Butt ready for big boys

Tim Butt has his sights set on Australia's best pacers with My Field Marshall.

Butt arrived in Sydney a few weeks back with those ambitious plans, but had to rethink after My Field Marshall's Newcastle Mile flop.

But the five-year-old made a lie of that run when he stormed home to beat a hot field in the Group 2 4&5YO Championship at Melton last night (Saturday).

"Newcastle left me wondering," Butt said. "He ran such a top race behind Lennytheshark in the Bulli Cup in that quick time and I thought he'd be even better at Newcastle.

"As it turns out, I think he didn't back-up after the big run in fast time behind Lenny.

"I nearly scratched him from the Bulli Cup because he'd had a virus back home and I wasn't totally happy with him on the day of the Bulli Cup. I ended-up running him and he ran a huge race.

"I was so confident going to Newcastle after that because I thought he'd improve again.

"Looking back, the big Bulli Cup run when he wasn't quite right must have flattened him."

Butt said all the signs were great again heading to the Melton feature, but he wanted to see a big showing.

He got that and more.

In a frantically run 2240m race where the pace never slackened after a blazing lead time, My Field Marshall sat backed and then sustained a long, strong finishing burst around the field to win impressively.

"Ants (driver Anthony Butt) told me we'd need the pace on all the way to get into the back and thankfully we got that," Tim Butt said.

"Still he had to go super to win. He really just outstayed them in the end."

My Field Marshall beat a super brave NSW raider Mattgregor by 1.9m with Harness Jewels-bound Mr Mojito in third spot in a very slick 1min54.9sec mile rate for 2240m.

Mattgregor's run to do so much work at the front of the field, look beaten rounding the last bend, but lift again late was simply amazing.

My Field Marshall now returns Sydney for a clash with Lennytheshark in the Golden Mile at Menangle in June 10.

The comes the Group 1 Len Smith Mile also at Menangle on June 25. 

"If he goes well in both of those we will head up to the big Queensland winter races with him as well," Butt said.

Adam Hamilton