No ifs no buts

Young Woodend Beach harness racing trainer Bob Butt has a rich pedigree and that DNA is starting to come through as the thirty three year old heads into the second half of his twelfth season of training.

His parents Davey and Catherine Butt trained eight hundred and thirty nine winners between them, his grandfather Robin and great grandfather Wes had successful careers and Bob’s other great grandfather was the legendary trainer Jack Litten. So the heritage runs deep.

Bob grew up around horses but wasn’t naturally drawn to them early.

“I always helped at the races. I wasn’t really interested when I was real young. I got more interested when I left high school,” he said.

“In the holidays I worked for Nigel McGrath. I left school when I was fifteen and went to work for Cran (Dalgety) for about eighteen months. I then moved up to Auckland and worked for Barry Purdon for two or three years. I went up there when I got my driving license and it was good to learn off him.”

He drove eight winners for Purdon including the classy Pembrook Benny (Courage Under Fire).

After working at Purdon’s Bob returned home to finish his stint as a junior driver.

In 2011 he took out his trainer’s license. His first winner was Biddy Bid (Sundon) bred and owned by Brent Lilley.

“I then went to Brent’s who had just moved over to Melbourne. The rules were different over there so I could still have a junior license for another couple of years. He was real good to me giving me heaps of drives. I think I won a hundred and twenty races over there.”

Brent Lilley

At the time Lilley had two very good mares in Talaspring (Badlands Hanover) and Flying Pocketlands (Badlands Hanover).

Flying Pocketlands won twenty one races and Talaspring nineteen. Butt won once on Talaspring at Melton in June 2012.

“When I came back I worked for Mum and Dad and started to get a few horses to train and it started to build from there.”

Bob said his grandparent Robin and Jackie Butt have supported him from his early days.

“They’ve always been my biggest supporters with the number of horses in work.”

Bob trains at Woodend Beach on a 200 acre property owned by his parents. The property has forty paddocks, a large barn with six boxes.

He has twenty horses in work and is helped by full timer Craig Smith, Tarryn Jones who works in the morning and race caller Matt Cross who comes out when he can.

His parents still run the farm, looking after broodmares and spelling horses.

Bob lives on the property with his partner Emma Duckworth and the couple have a daughter Bryleigh who turns five in September.

The property also has a swimming pool, trend mill and a water walker.

“I bought the water walker in from Germany three months ago. It just adds to the variety.”

However most of the work is done on the Woodend Beach.

“It a great surface. Something different for the horses, straight line training and plenty of variety. They go down there on all their fast work days. The track is a backup and good to get the young ones going around. Our track (800 metres) is as good as anyone’s so we’re lucky that we’ve got the best of both worlds.”

So far Bob has trained one hundred and forty eight winners and has reined two hundred and ninety one winners, with his mother and father and Paul Nairn providing the bulk of those. Major winners for Nairn include Masterly (Love You) in the G2 NZ Sires Stakes Trotters Championship, Lotamuscle (Muscle Hill) in the G1 New Zealand Trotting Derby and the G3 Hambletonian Classic at Ashburton and Conon Bridge, (Raffaella) the G3 Hambletonian Classic at Ashburton and the Listed Sales Series Two Year Old Mobile Trot at Addington.

Bob’s first winner was Unattached (Caprock) at Forbury Park in November 2006 trained by his parents.

As a trainer his major winners have been:

• Callies Delight (Bettor’s Delight) G1 Breeders Stakes at Addington
• Manhattan (Bettor’s Delight) G3 Northern Breeders Stakes at Alexandra Park
• Cover Girl (Bettor’s Delight) G2 Caduceus Club at Alexandra Park
• Gold Chain (Muscle Hill) G3 Northern Breeders Stakes at Alexandra Park
• Gold Chain (Muscle Hill) G3 Waikato Trotting Breeders Stakes at Cambridge
• Cover Girl (Bettor’s Delight) Listed Harness Millions at Alexandra Park
• Heavyweight Hero (Muscle Mass) G1 New Zealand Trotting FFA

Trotting mare Gold Chain is owned by his grandparents Robin and Jackie and from just thirty eight starts she won nine races and earned $129,877.

Gold Chain winning at Addington (Race Images)

Penny, Jackie and Robin Butt with Gold Chain and Bob Butt (Race Images)

“She broke down early in her career after she only had one of two starts. We got Gold Bullion out of her and she came back later and won all those races.”

Gold Bullion (Father Patrick) showed a lot of promise last year, winning two of his four starts.

“He’s always been good gaited and had a bit of speed. He did a good job last year as a two year old. He’s about ready to go now and he’s got all those big three year old races over the spring and summer. He’ll have to improve because it’s a good crop.”

Butt thinks the gelding has improved.

“I gave him a massive spell because he was quite weak so that’s why we missed the three year old races early in the year.”

The Hambletonian at Ashburton and the $110,000 New Zealand Trotting Derby are likely targets for Gold Bullion.

Heavyweight Hero is another horse that holds a special place in Bob’s heart.

“Toddy (Macfarlane) sent him down and he was my first real good horse. As a trainer I won my first Group One with him. He put my name out there. He always had trouble with his feet so he came down here and really thrived.”

Heavyweight Hero winning the Dominion Handicap at Addington in November 2020 (Race Images)

By the time Heavyweight Hero’s career ended he’d won ten races for $226,911. and set four New Zealand records.

Manhattan has also been outstanding for the stable after coming from Mitchell Kerr’s.

“She came to me as a three start maiden.”

Manhattan winning at Ashburton October 2022 (Race Images)

Winning connections (Race Images)

Manhattan is just back from Australia after running second in the Group One $150,000 Garrards The Golden Girl.

“She’s had a couple of weeks off and she’ll just come back into work at the start of next week. She’s a horse that’s got better and stronger every time she’s come back into work. It’s going to be a lot harder this year because there’s an unbelievable crop of mares like Millwood Nike, Allamericanlover and Aardie’s Express.”

Manhattan has won nine races and banked $196,640.

Bob feels he has a strong racing team at the moment with some promising young stock including a handful of two year old trotters. One of those, Cyclone Zion W (Father Patrick) qualified at Rangiora in May. He’s a half brother to Cyclone U Bolt (Dream Vacation) the winner of twelve races including the Three Year Old Ruby for Todd Macfarlane.

He also likes Wilma’s Boy (Tactical Landing) the first foal out of Wilma’s Mate (Pegasus Spur) which won fourteen races.

“He’s going to be a nice horse in another six months. Times going to be his friend.”

Another two year old trotter is Levi (What The Hill). He’s out of Fear Factor (Sundon) which won four and is the dam of Prince Fearless (Majestic Son) eight wins, and Stress Factor (Majestic Son) sixteen wins.

Dynasty (Rocknroll Hanover) who’s out of Special Rose (Live Or Die) has promise. She’s a half-sister to Prestonpans (Somebeachsomewhere) the winner of eight.

“She’s an all pacing breed and will make a nice wee trotter for Robin and Jackie (Butt).”

Rounding out his young stock is Valyrian (Volstead) who’s out of Arya a fifteen win Angus Hall mare. Valyrian is owned by Trevor Casey and Kate Marriot.

Bob says he’s had a quieter season, not helped by having a back operation in March when he was unable to drive for five months.

“I’ve got a nice team at the moment so hopefully I’ll have a good spring and summer with them.”

Additional family notes:

As a driver David Butt drove 1,141 winners. He had remarkable success with Paul Nairn, driving one hundred and thirty five winners for the master trotting trainer including Stig, Habiti, Wilma’s Mate, Call Me Now and Above The Stars.

Davey Butt winning the Kaikoura Cup with Bondy (Race Images)

Stig won the 2008 Dominion Handicap and the 2013 Rowe Cup and Call Me Now took out the 1995 Dominion Handicap.

Stig winning the 2008 Dominion Handicap at Addington (Race Images)

David’s father and Bob’s grandfather Robin Butt was also a very successful horseman.

He trained two hundred and eighty five winners including topliners Locarno, Ostrava, Diogenes, Agrinion, Camelot and Bondy which was his last winner at Westport in December 2005.

Camelot won the 1984 New Zealand Cup, Locarno the New Zealand Messenger, Ostrava the New Zealand Championship Stakes and Bondy’s wins included the Hannon Memorial and Northern Southland Trotting Cup.

Camelot winning the 1984 New Zealand Trotting Cup

He drove three hundred and eighty seven winners.

Robin’s wife Jackie’s father was Jack Litten who trained Caduceus (U Scott). He won twenty eight races including the New Zealand FFA (3), the Auckland Cup, the Ashburton Flying Stakes (2), the New Zealand Derby and the Hannon Memorial.

Jack Litten with Caduceus and Our Roger

Wes Butt trained five hundred and eighty one winners between 1949 and 1991. As a driver he won six hundred and thirty eight races.

He trained Even Speed (Great Evander) which won twenty two races including the Rowe Cup, the New Zealand Trotting Derby and the Northern Trotting Derby and Johnny Gee (Johnny Globe) twenty seven wins including the Dominion Handicap, the New Zealand Trotting Derby, and the Canterbury Park Trotting Cup.

Even Speed and Wes Butt winning the Rowe Cup

Other good winners for Wes were Tony Bear (Intangible) and Golden Oriole (Local Light). As a driver he drove Wee Win (Out To Win) to win seventeen races including the 1979 Easter Cup.

Wee Win and Wes Butt winning a heat of the Interdominions at Addington

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink