By Adam Hamilton
Anthony Butt has teamed with his brother Tim for so many big wins, but he was quick to declare My Field Marshal’s Len Smith Mile success “extra special.”
“This is up there with the best of them,” he said. “Tim’s been through a bit of a lean patch for the past few years, but to share this win with him, knowing the amazing job he’s done with this horse is something else.
“He’s had a couple of wind operations this horse and just generally keeping him healthy has been a real challenge, but Tim’s done such a great job.
“He’s not only back to best now this horse, but better than ever. He won that 4&5YO Championship well in Melbourne a while back, but he’s just kept getting better and better since.”
In a race billed as showdown between David Aiken’s superstar stablemates Lennytheshark and Hectorjayjay, My Field Marshal stole the show with his upset win as a $29.50 outsider.
It came courtesy of a sublime Anthony Butt drive where a split-second decision made the difference.
Straightening for home, Butt had to decide whether to grab a trail on Mach Doro or dive back to the inside for runs.
“The one-wide line was going nowhere with Major Crocker struggling, so I opted to follow Mach Doro then when I saw daylight it was over … he was travelling so well he just swamped them,” he said.
My Field Marshal surged past Mach Doro to win by 2.5m in a 1min50.2sec mile.
What made the win so big was the fact the pace certainly wasn’t frantic early when Hectorjayjay found the front in a relatively cosy 26.9sec opening quarter and Lennytheshark quickly moved along side of him in a 29.4sec second split.
The fireworks went on down the back straight when Chris Alford, mindful of needing to take the zip out of Hectorjayjay in front, poured on the pressure with Lenny through a 26.8sec third split.
The stablemates straightened for home together, but it was so obvious they were both in trouble.
Lennytheshark fought gamely, but didn’t have the ping of the sit-sprinters and finished 4.5m away in third spot.
Hectorjayjay was disappointing considering the relatively comfortable lead time and first half. He was 5.1m away in fourth spot.
The first four home are likely to lock horns again in the Sunshine Sprint and/or Blacks A Fake in Queensland in coming weeks.
It’s also worth looking at the replay rather than just the stats which say Tiger Tara ran eighth.
His run was out of this world given he settled last and made up at least 20m on the leaders in a last half, which was officially run in 53.9sec.
Make no mistakes Tiger Tara will be a major player, especially in the longer Blacks A Fake in Queensland.
The only query with My Field Marshal in Queensland is who drives him in the Sunshine Sprint.
The race clashes with the huge Vicbred finals night at Melton and Anthony Butt could be committed to staying in Melbourne.
“Let’s get through the Vicbred semis first and see which of my drives make the finals, but I’ve got some nice drives and some of them are headed to the Breeders Crown after the Vicbred as well,” Butt said.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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