 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2011
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Anthony and mother Jenny Butt |
Vulcan continues to rise above the expectations of trainer Tim Butt. Only five, Vulcan should have the best years ahead of him, and that may still be the case.
His record, however, is already hugely impressive - 11 wins from 35 starts, and four of those are Group 1s. After Harness Jewels wins at three and four, the third came when he squeaked home in the NZ Trotting Free-For-All on Cup Day and the fourth came with a bonny finish to overhaul Dr Hook in the $200,000 Hellers Dominion Trot three days later.
This really is a massive achievement, and one that Butt has not seen coming - at least not this soon. He has often played down where Vulcan should be, suggesting he's a year away from really being competitive amongst the older horses. As can be seen, Vulcan is ahead of the plan. While his Cup Day was close, he made no bones about winning the Dominion, giving Anthony Butt his 9th success in the race and brother Tim his 8th as a trainer.
Anthony has also won with Lyell Creek (3), Take A Moment (3), Simon Katz and Mountbatten, like Vulcan, by Earl. Tim gave Vulcan a chance of winning, as long as it turned into a hard grind. "I was hoping the Cup Day run gave him the seasoning he needed," said Tim. "It helped when I Can Doosit, Sovereignty and Raydon lost ground, and Stylish Monarch wasn't there. But he's always been above average, and he has the attitude and he's tough. He isn't like Mountbatten, who had more raw speed, and isn't the champion the others were."
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 16Nov2011