Benjamin Butcher gets notable first at Cambridge

[Wandering Eyes]

By Jordyn Bublitz 

Benjamin Butcher reached a special milestone at Cambridge Raceway on Thursday night, driving one of his own horses to victory for the very first time.

The achievement came with I Can Too, in the Xmas Packages On Sale Now @ Cambridge Raceway Mobile Pace. Despite an awkward draw on the outside of the mobile, Butcher pressed forward early to take the lead. From there, he rated the race perfectly and held off challengers to win by the narrowest of margins.

For Butcher, it was a special moment and his seventh training success overall. 

“It’s been a long time coming, it feels good to get the monkey off of my back,” he said, “Me, Dad (David) and Zach have all had a winner in my colours now, so I’ll have to get it framed.”

The gelding had shown promise the week before, and Butcher felt he had the right horse to seize the opportunity.

“He went really well in the Winter Rewards last week, he was just unlucky and didn’t get a run,” he said. 

“It was only a small field last night and there wasn’t a lot of gate-speed, I was having to hang onto him so I thought, ‘I might as well press on.’ He’s such an honest horse and he got the job done, so that’s the main thing.”

It wasn’t the only highlight of the night, with Butcher also training and driving Abman and Barbarossa to third-place finishes in their respective races. Both impressed their trainer with honest efforts.

“I was a bit unlucky with Abman, we probably would’ve run into second if we’d gotten some clear air, but I’m very happy with the way he’s going and that he’s getting back to where I want him.”

“Barbarossa’s just an old tradesman, a war horse. He never goes a bad race and he’s always thereabouts. He’s found the right grade where he should be in the money most weeks now. They both raced really well.”

The win is even more meaningful given the adversity Butcher has faced. In August last year he was involved in a serious crash at Alexandra Park that sidelined him for months.

“I started slowly working back with the horses about four months after the accident, it was the head injury that gave me the most grief,” he explained. “It’s one of those things that until you’ve had your own one it’s hard to understand what you have to go through. I’m still not 100 percent, I’m pretty good but I do still have the off day here and there. It’s a work in progress, but it will just be a time thing.”

Now, Butcher is firmly back into his routine. He currently has five horses in his own name and is also looking after seven from his father’s team while he’s in Europe.

“It keeps me busy enough, but Mike Berger has been giving me a hand in the mornings and that’s a massive help. We have a bit of a laugh and it’s quite enjoyable, he’s a good man.”

Looking ahead, Butcher’s goal is straightforward.

“I just want to keep doing the best I can for the owners who are giving me the opportunity to train their horses.”

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