By Michael Guerin
An oversight from top trainer Tim Butt has ended his Inter Dominion pacing assault.
And cost him A$1000 in the process.
Butt had his two pacers Let It Ride and Italian Delight withdrawn from their heats at Ballarat on Tuesday and therefore the remainder of the series after he took blood off them today for a routine blood test.
Harness Racing Victoria rules forbid horses having any form of injection used on them for a clear 24 hours before raceday so stewards had little option but to scratch the pair.
The irony is Butt, who until last year trained with great success in Canterbury, actually told the stewards he had broken the rule.
“They rang me to ask how the horses were and I told them I had just taken a blood to have it tested to make sure they were fine,” said Butt.
“Then the told me I can’t do that and it dawned on me, no injections the day before the races even if it is extracting rather than putting anything into the horses.
“It is totally my mistake. I guess in the back of my mind I knew the rule but I honestly didn’t think about it.
“So I will have to cop that and apologise to the owners.” Stewards accepted their was nothing sinister in Butt’s actions and fined him A$1000.
The pair join local star Shadow Sax in being withdrawn from the series yesterday and leave the Kiwi pacing trio of Cruz Bromac, Spankem and I’m Pats Delight as three of maybe only six serious winning chances left for the A$500,000 final on Saturday week.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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