Vale Colleen Butcher

The matriarch of one of New Zealand’s great racing families, Colleen Butcher, passed away on Monday. She was 88.

Mrs Butcher was the wife of training great John Butcher, who died eight years ago and the couple’s legacy in harness racing is enormous.

They had four children in Annette, Pauline, David and Philip, the latter outstanding horsemen.

Mrs Butcher’s grandchildren include trainers and drivers Benjamin, Zachary, Stephen and Shane but mere wins and trophies can’t sum up the family’s contribution to harness racing, particularly in the north.

They are one of the great harness racing dynasties and enormously respected across the code.

Mrs Butcher sat above all that, the rock at John’s side and the biggest fan of her children and grandchildren.

Most recently she raced Zarias, a winner at Alexandra Park last year, out of Zachary’s stable and would make the trip from Cambridge to Alexandra Park to watch him race. Those were busy nights as everybody knew her and she knew them but such occasions were true to her belief of getting on with life and living it after John’s passing.

That attitude permeates through the family, with both David and Zachary fulfilling their driving engagements this week, David driving at the family’s home track of Cambridge on Tuesday night.

“Mum was our biggest supporter and would watch all the races,” explains David.

“So we will get on with winning races for her and Dad as they would have wanted us to and farewell her on Thursday.”

Mrs Butcher will be laid to rest after a service at St Peters Catholic Church in Cambridge at 10.30am on Thursday.

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand