Look out! NZ harness racing stars are coming to Town

It is exciting to have a good, old-fashioned Kiwi harness racing assault in the Hunter Cup.

So much of the history of Victoria’s greatest race is built around stars crossing the ditch.

And now it’s confirmed two of NZ’s best three pacers – Copy That (American Ideal) and Old Town Road (Bettor’s Delight) – will be flown across on Wednesday to tackle both Saturday week’s Ballarat Cup and the Hunter Cup two weeks later.

It’s a coup for Victoria because it will be their only Aussie destination. Neither will head to Sydney for the Miracle Mile.

And, in Copy That and Old Town Road, we have two pacers absolutely good enough to win one or both of the Ballarat or Hunter Cups.

Let’s start with the proven superstar – Copy That.

His Victorian-based owner Merv Butterworth insists Victorians will see the very best of Copy That in his upcoming two-race raid.

Rather than be haunted by the issues and setbacks which have plagued Copy That’s previous Victorian trips, Butterworth can’t wait to tackle the Ballarat and Hunter Cups.

“He’s been a top horse for a long time now, but I think Victorians will see him right at his prime,” Butterworth said.

“He’s in great form, right at the peak of his career as far as age and experience goes and I’m sure he’s as good as any horse in this part of the world.

“The travel he’s done over the past years or so has also been important. Yes, we’ve had some hiccups, but the actual travel itself and the trips away have really seasoned him.”

Copy That, winner of the past two NZ Cups, will have just the two Victorian runs and return home rather than head to Sydney for the Miracle Mile.

“No, it’s not a race I’m keen on,” Butterworth said. “He’s straight back home after the Hunter Cup to prepare for The Race by Grins (at Cambridge).”

Butterworth doesn’t fear any rivals in the Ballarat or Hunter Cups.

“Sure, there’s a few I respect, especially Rock N Roll Doo who is on the up, but I’m sure Copy That is right up with any of them,” he said.

Copy That will be missing one key ingredient when he lands in Melbourne on Wednesday. His trainer Ray Green, who has been battling health issues, won’t be with him and probably won’t come across at all for this trip.

“Ray’s pretty good at directing things over the phone, he’s done it a fair bit in the past year or so,” Butterworth laughed “It’s not a concern for us at all. Andrew Drake is the stable foreman at Lincoln Farms and he’s traveling with Copy That.”

Part of the reason Copy That is heading back to Victoria is the lack of races in NZ, especially the North Island.

He ran a mighty second from a 30m handicap in a four-horse race at Auckland last-start, but another proposed four-horse race at Cambridge last weekend was scrapped by HRNZ because of a lack of numbers.

“It’s not frustrating, it’s beyond that,” Butterworth said. “It’s been an issue for a while now and we saw this coming, so we planned Ballarat and the Hunter Cup a few months back.”

It’s a similar story with Old Town Road, according to his Victorian-based part-owner Josh Dickie.

“The main aim this campaign is The Race at Cambridge, but there’s real challenges with lead-up races back home and these two (Victorian) races will suit him and come along at the right time,” Dickie said.

“He showed back at (NZ) Cup time he’s up with them and he’s a horse still on the rise.”

Old Town Road’s trainer, Dickie’s father John, confirmed the trip after the pacer trialled exceptionally well with Copy That last Friday.

“We’d hoped to race him at Cambridge, but the race was scrapped so Dad used the trial as D-Day. He was really happy with him. He sat on Copy That, they went good time and there wasn’t much between them,” Josh Dickie said.

Back to Butterworth and Copy That’s Victorian raid is the start of a huge few months for leviathan owner, who also races NZ’s best three-year-old thoroughbred Sharp And Smart with his friend and trainer, Graeme Rogerson.

“He’s something else, definitely the best galloper I’ve been involved in,” Butterworth said.

Sharp And Smart returns to racing in NZ smack in between when Copy That tackles the Ballarat and Hunter Cups.

“I’ve been staying with ‘Rogey’ (Rogerson) at his place and we talked through the Autumn plans. The first-up race is the Thorndon Mile in Wellington on January 28,” he said.

“Then he’s got two more runs in NZ before heading to Sydney for the Australian Derby (April 1) and the Queen Elizabeth (April 8).”

Sharp And Smart has raced just eight times for four wins and three seconds. He won the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick on October 22 before a terrific second in the Victoria Derby a week later.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Victoria