Butcher chasing more Group 1s at Alexandra park tonight

[Wandering Eyes]

It’s Friday night with racing at Auckland and Addington and while Zachary Butcher vies for dual Group 1 glory at Alexandra Park the likes of IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup rivals Republican Party and Mo’unga will battle it out further south in the Summer Cup.

The fillies and mares will take centre stage at Alexandra Park with the first ever running of the TAB Queen of Diamonds Trot and the Woodlands Stud Queen of Hearts Pace. Both are Group 1s worth $100,000.

Butcher keen to make “great” year even better  

By Michael Guerin

Star driver Zachary Butcher loves nothing more than beating his father David and has done it again by setting a new North Island stakes record.

But even some outstanding drives to end the season may not be enough to see him join one of the most exclusive clubs in harness racing.

Butcher heads to Alexandra Park tonight for the first of three major meetings to see out the year, with two Group 1s tonight, the new Golden Gait series next Friday and the Auckland Cup on December 31.

He starts that stretch almost $1million ahead of his best ever stakes season in New Zealand, having driven the winners of $2,523,376 in a season where he also joined the 1000 wins club.

His tally is also a record for a North Island-based harness racing driver, bettering the $2,328,344 his father David’s drives won in 2008-09.

“Just goes to show you the great progress harness racing is making with Entain’s help and I am just thrilled to be part of it and getting on such good horses,” says Butcher.

His record numbers puts him in with a mathematical chance of becoming only the third driver after Blair Orange (twice) and John Dunn (2021) to drive the winners of over $3million in stakes in a NZ domestic season.

But with over $475,000 to go he might need even more than Duchess Megxit and I Dream Of Jeannie in $100,000 fillies and mares races tonight, Duchess Megxit and her stablemates in their $100,000 Golden Gait races next week and Merlin in the $250,000 Auckland Cup.

“Regardless of the final number it has been a great year,” says Butcher.

He has a legit shot at the Group 1 double tonight with Duchess Megxit a $2.70 favourite in the $100,000 Woodlands Stud Queen of Hearts while I Dream Of Jeannie is the best performed mare in the new $100,000 TAB Queen Of Diamonds for trotting mares.

“Megxit has to be a chance but she does have a tricky draw,” admits Butcher.

“I think they will go hard early so I will probably try and stay out of that and swoop on them late.

“That can always change but she must be going all right because she wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t. She was only 50-50 to start last after coming back from the Oaks.”

The Queen Of Hearts should be run at a good tempo with gate speed from Mr Kaplan, Seaclusion and Lady Of The Light while the tactics on Princess Meritaten, who was stunning on her Alexandra Park debut last Friday, will be interesting.

Like Duchess Megxit she can fly late but if they both go back at the start that takes some early pressure out of the race and starts a game of cat and mouse they can’t both win.

Duchess Megxit is a proven Group 1 filly though so looks the best bet. 

I Dream Of Jeannie ($6.50FF) has paired with Butcher a few times before with mixed success but at a higher level than tonight’s new mare’s trot.

“She is staying at my place and she looks great,” says Butcher.

“She is off 10m but could get a good through and she has been going really good races so she can win for sure.”

It is good, even first running of the Queen Of Diamonds though and a lot may depend on how keen the favoured front liners like Con Grazia Love and Faith In Manchester want to hold the lead and run along.

Both are capable of trotting 3:25 for the 2700m which would make them hard to catch for those coming wide.

Tonight also sees Auckland Cup winner Better Eclipse ($2.50FF) return to Alexandra Park for a $60,000 Lincoln Farms Franklin Cup that looks suitable even off a 30m handicap as it has some rugged stayers who could drag him into the race.

Butcher drives Invisible in that race and add in Ultimate Racy Girl (R2), I Got Chills (R3), Hezasweetie (R7), Romeo Foxtrot (R8) and Greased Lightnin (R9) and he will be a hot favorite for the driver’s challenge.

The return of Republican Party in Summer Cup at Addington

By Michael Guerin

Trainer Cran Dalgety isn’t letting the rollercoaster of Cup week put him off stable star Republican Party returning to winning form at Addington tonight.

The gutsy little stallion produced the run of his career for third in the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup last month, running past Merlin as Swayzee and Don’t Stop Dreaming surged clear.

It was a mammoth effort but luck was against Republican Party three days later in the NZ Free-For-All when he was held up across the top by a struggling Kango and couldn’t get out of his three-deep pocket until the race was over.

So Dalgety is willing to put that eighth down to luck, or a lack of it, and says Republican Party still had a hell of a week.

“His run in the Cup was enormous and it was just a shame he got crossed by Kango early in the Free-For-All, which we weren’t expecting,” says Dalgety.

“But we have freshened him up since then and he worked really well on the weekend so we have the real deal ready to go this week.

“We considered going to the Franklin Cup up north but he would have been off a handicap I think we are better off here where he is off the same mark, albeit drawn widest at the mobile.”

While the East West Fencing Summer Cup boasts a only small field there are enough staying type horses in the race like Franco Marek and Mo’unga to suggest there could be decent tempo to allow Republican Party to be flying late.

Whether he can fly fast enough may depend on how quickly those other favourites sort themselves out.

A good performance tonight will see Republican Party head to the Invercargill Cup with Dalgety, who trains with his wife Chrissie, not totally dismissing the idea of the Auckland Cup just over a week later.

“But we have a fair bit of water to go under the bridge before then.”

If either Franco Marek or Mo’unga is able to run to the lead without pressure in tonight’s 1980m mobile either would be hard to beat but Mo’unga, who opened the $2.60 TAB favourite, hadn’t raced since his sixth in the NZ Cup so may be conceding at least a little race fitness and that could be enough to see him driven conservatively.

The Summer Cup is the standout of the night but the Peek Exhibition Fillies and Mares Christmas Bonus Mobile Trot is a fun race that pits Freya, dropping out of taking on Keayang Zahara, up against High Step and Rush over 1980m mobile.

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