“I think I have to try and lead and stay there because if I hand the lead to her (Aardie’s Express) I am conceding the race,” says Butt.
“My mare can go 2:38 for 2:37 in front so Aardie’s Express will need to be good to sit parked outside her and beat her at that speed.”
Butt realises that if he flies early on Manhattan he could open a gap that would allow Zachary Butcher driving Aardie’s Express to get on his back and get the seemingly perfect trail.
“I know that could happen but I’d rather have her trailing me than be sitting in the trail behind her because she would have too much speed for us to catch her.”
Manhattan against the markers will take catching but the best version of Aardie’s Express should be too quick for her unless she has to sit parked throughout.
If Butt’s early predictions don’t pan out and Aardie’s Express is able to wrest the lead then she looks a good thing.
One group watching that with interest will be the TAB bookies who very generously opened Aardie’s Express at $2.20 and she was quickly backed into $1.65 on Tuesday and it wouldn’t surprise to see her start even shorter tonight.
There is plenty of depth to the race though, with Lady Of The Light in superb form but cruelly treated in the draw (barrier 8) while Allamericanlover is the defending champion but will need a heap of early pressure to undo the favourites if she is to successfully swoop in the second half of the race.
While Butt intends leading in the Queen Of Hearts he will be the hunter in the $50,000 Thames Members Trot tonight with Resolve starting off a 20m handicap.
The Canterbury mare has had a hugely productive month at Addington including finishing third in the Dominion and was fourth in the group 1 NZ Trotting Free-For-All just five days ago.
Her biggest concern tonight is distance as she would look a good thing over 2700m but tonight’s main trot is only 2200m and if her rivals decide to make life hard for her she could be chasing the entire race.
“It won’t be easy, it never is at Alexandra Park off a handicap over the short trip,” admits Butt.
“So she will need some luck and it would be nice if she could begin fast and put a few behind her in the small field.”
One of Butt’s most interesting entries tonight is young trotter Bet N Win (R3, No.6) who was unlucky not to get a start in Sunday’s NZ Derby.
He has some learning to do and will be a better horse with an extra 20kgs of muscle on him in a year but he can really trot and his manners and inexperience right-handed may be a more difficult challenge than any of his rivals tonight.
“It can be a tough track first time for a young horse but he is talented and if I can ease him around the bends I think he can still win as he has high speed.”
Joshua Dickie set for a permanent return home
Northern harness racing fans will get a preview of the return of the prodigal son tonight.
Because while top class horseman Joshua Dickie isn’t returning home for good just yet he is only weeks away.
Dickie, the multiple group 1-winning driver and son of top trainer John Dickie, has been living in Victoria for the last two years training a small team on the property of his partner Samantha Kilgour.
But Dickie is set for a permanent return home after being offered a role that includes being the North Island driver for the premiership-winning Stonewall Stud stables run by Steve Telfer.
So while he and Kigour don’t officially return to live in New Zealand until next month Dickie will drive six horses at tonight’s meeting as well as return for the New Year’s Eve meeting.
“We have really enjoyed our time in Victoria but we are both looking forward to getting back there,” said Dickie.
“The job at Stonewall is too good to pass up and while he have a few loose ends here to sort out they (Stonewall) have been great about it.
“I love driving at home and think it probably suits my style better than over here but driving here has been good for me too.”
The 32-year-old Dickie will partner defending champion Allamericanlover in the $110,000 Queen Of Hearts tonight and says while she will need luck from the second line he is thrilled to be leaping straight back into the big time on his home track.
“Steve (Telfer) has also go me on a couple of their two-year-olds who are obviously very nice horses so it should be a good preview of what is to come.”
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
