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RACING HISTORY

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Lyell Creek has the FFA in safe keeping

Lyell Creek is obviously not as old as people think he is. He made short work of younger bones in the Porter Group Hyundai Construction Equipment NZ Trotting Free-For-All at Addington last Friday, sending his 11-year-old legs humming over 2600m at record speed.

The 11 others, all of younger vintage, saw him disappear down the straight, followed by Sumthingaboutmaori, who chased him gamely. For most of them it was more of the same. This was his 55th win, a number which still takes some comprehening. He ran the trip in 3:14.3, which clipped 0.1 off the old mark shared by Last Sunset and Major Decision. This, too, takes thinking about. It might suggest that he is as good, or better, than he has been.

Trainer Tim Butt shakes his head at the thought of it. "He is not the horse he was. Today, the race panned out for him. Some of the others, like Allegro Agitato, were taken on and had hard runs. This was run to suit him," he said.

As good as it was, Butt is anxious to keep the performance in perspective. "If they go 4:05, he can win the Dominion, but not if they run 4:10. In the last three weeks his work has been great. He enjoys life around the stables, looks forward to his work, but we will still have to space his races. The Friday one was designed to top him off for the Dominion," he said.

Butt said it was fantastic hearing the Addington crowd give Lyell Creek such an ovation after his win. "They respect him, and I think they can see he has got that will to win, just like Sunline showed," he said

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 17Nov04