Racing: That magic feeling returns for Elsu

The large smile across the face of leading horseman David Butcher in the stabling area at Alexandra Park on Thursday night was for a number of reasons.

Free-for-all pacing sensation Elsu had easily won the $9675 feature event and Butcher had that "magic feeling" back in his hands when sitting behind Elsu.

Butcher has developed a staggering record handling the five-year-old son of Falcon Seelster - $1.2 million won in stakes - and when Elsu is in peak fitness and racing form, Australasia's free-for-all pacers are going to suffer some severe equine pain.

Elsu's trainer Geoff Small was sitting quietly in the background, well-satisfied with the words that came out of Butcher's mouth.

"I was happy with the way Elsu felt in the trial he won a week ago and he felt even better tonight and he's going to strip down a very fit horse for the Hunter Cup next week," said Butcher.

Small and Butcher are firmly focussed on the $450,000 Hunter Cup which will be run at Moonee Valley next Saturday night.

The event has proved to be a punting graveyard for favourites and racehorses that start off lengthy handicap marks. But that has not stopped Butcher supporting the decision to start Elsu in the Group One event.

The Hunter Cup has seen a number of upset results as the pattern of racing generally results in a blistering pace. That suits racehorses that can sit off the pace and cover no extra ground during the running.

"Really it's going to be up to me to give Elsu as good a run as I can give him and I've driven in the Hunter Cup before and I know how aggressive the Australian drivers are in this race," Butcher said.

"We'll be starting off a 20 metre handicap and he's getting better and better each time he has a standing start race. We should settle, hopefully, in the middle of the field.

"When he won the Auckland Cup two starts ago I had to do quite a bit of work during the middle stages of the race to get around the field and he sprinted sharply at the end of the race.

"The Hunter Cup is a different type of race and if I can get him a nice tow into the race over the last lap he has the speed and stamina to quicken when I ask him to sprint.

"I'm very, very happy with the way he's racing at the moment and I'm looking forward to driving this horse around Moonee Valley. He's such an adaptable horse to drive. You can slot him into the field anywhere during a race and that's important because during the running of a Hunter Cup you can end up getting pushed all over the place."