A 12-month break necessitated by an operation to remove bone chips from a knee hasn't held back promising winter galloper Butler, who resumed with a comfortable victory over 1200m at Te Rapa yesterday.
The strapping son of Showcasing had fashioned an excellent record before his injury-enforced layoff, winning four ofhis first eight starts for trainer Allan Sharrock.
A comfortable trial win over 1000m at Foxton last month fitted the 4-year-old for yesterday's assignment, and in the hands of apprentice Tayla Mitchell, he bounded clear of his rivals in the home straight to win handsomely by three lengths.
Sharrock, who was at home in New Plymouth, was delighted to see Butler back to his best with the win.
"He was good enough to win four races while he had that niggling issue with his knee," he said. "We put him aside after he won at Ōtaki this time last year and he had the surgery to remove the chips.
"It has been a long, slow build-up to get him back, but it was a joy to see him working lately without a hint of the problem he had earlier.
"If he didn't have those knee issues, he would be unbeaten, that's how much I think of him."
Sharrock is prepared to aim high with his charge, with the immediate plan to start him next in the Group 2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m) back at Te Rapa on August 27.
● Trainer Tony Pike doesn't have a large number of horses operating from his Cambridge base during the winter, but he managed a winning double at Te Rapa yesterday.
Pike won the fourth race over 2100m with winter galloper Miss Onaki and also collected the feature race, the Te Awamutu Cup (1600m), with 7-year-old River Run.
"He always seems to go well at Te Rapa and he stripped fitter after his first two starts in this prep," Pike said of River Run. "He never seems to go a bad race."
