Racing: Butt reflects on list of super stars

Anthony Butt wil drive Stig at Cambridge next Tuesday night.

A conversation with Anthony Butt about great trotters takes a lot longer than you might expect.

If should have been easy. Butt has snared the catch drive on Stig at Cambridge next Tuesday, furthering his startling association with many of Australasia's trotting greats.

Butt will sit in for cousin David for one race as on Tuesday Stig will clash with Habibti, the last-start Dullard Cup winner who David trains.

With Habibti to miss the National Trot at Alexandra Park on December 31, David will hop back on Stig for that race, which he won last season.

Anthony driving him in Tuesday's Flying Mile means he will have driven three of the best trotters in this part of the world - Vulcan, Stig and Peak - in a matter of six weeks.

For most drivers that trio would also rate as the three best trotters they will ever drive, considering Peak won the Danish Derby, Vulcan will soon become Australasian trotting's sixth-ever millionaire and Stig would already be in that elite club but for a three-year, mid-career retirement.

Yet, Butt completely dominates the millionaire trotters' club and has a quite amazing support cast of great trotters he has driven as well.

He was the regular driver for the richest-ever trotter from this part of the world in Lyell Creek, as well as the second-ever New Zealand trotting millionaire Take A Moment.

What fewer fans will realise is he also drove Sundon's Gift, Australia's only trotting millionaire, early in his career.

"You would have to say you are lucky to get on three horses like them, even though Sundon's Gift was only early in his career before he was sold," says Butt.

"And then to have three like Vulcan, Peak and Stig to sit behind in such a short space of time is special again."

But the list far from stops there.

Butt has also won a race behind Buster Hanover (25 wins, Inter Champ), won his first group one driving Simon Katz (Dominion Hcp) and won two Inter Dominion heats behind the incredible Tussle (36 wins, Inter Final).

"I won another Dominion behind Mountbatten," he says of his staggering nine wins in our biggest trotting race.

"And I have been lucky enough to drive some other good horses just randomly.

"I drove Fraggle Rock into second in an Inter Final and also drove Skyvalley, who might have been one of the smoothest trotters I've driven, in another Inter Final.

"I drove Game Bid to win a heat but had to get off him for the Inter Final he won.

"And I once drove Pride Of Petite in track work but never got to drive her in a race," he said.

Butt says while rating so many champion trotters is tough, there can be only one at the top of the list.

"Lyell was amazing and what he did might never be achieved again," he says.

Words that could just as easily sum up his own record with the squaregaiting heroes of the past 25 years.