The all-conquering harness racing Butt brothers, Tim and Anthony, have wasted no time in making their presence felt in Queensland.
And there's sure to be more to come as the Multiple Group One winning pair call the Sunshine State their home for at least the next month during the rich Winter Carnival season.
"We plan to have a team of perhaps a dozen between us competing in the carnival at Albion Park and Redcliffe," Anthony said.
"Both of us have some special memories from our previous Queensland trips. One of the best was in the 2001 Inter Dominion Trotters Final at Albion Park, which we took out with Take A Moment," he said.
Take a Moment was without a doubt one of New Zealand's greatest-ever trotters, the winner of 39 of his 67 starts.
In 2009 the Butts also landed the Inter Dominion Pacers' Final with Mr Feelgood at the Parklands circuit on the Gold Coast, and more recently Tim won the Blacks A Fake feature with Let It Ride last year.
While Anthony posted a winning driving treble on Saturday night at Brisbane, Tim trained a popular double, which would have pleased punters.
"It was nice to kick off in the right direction. We both love the Albion Park track, and personally, it's one of my favorites," Anthony said.
The New Zealand Hall-of-Famers combined with Im RocknRoll Magic (RocknRoll Hanover USA-Foreal (Washington VC) in the $12,970 Qualifying Pace and then Majestic Courtney NZ (Majestic Son-Courtneyrae NZ (Armbro Invasion USA) in the $8500 Haras Des Trotters Discretionary Handicap.
Anthony Butt scores with Majestic Courtney – (Dan Costello Photo)
Anthony was also successful when he picked up the drive for training partners Mark Jones and Aaron Goadsby on their promising three-year-old Barrett (Bettors Delight USA-Priceless Gem (Art Major USA) in the $12,970 Silks Qualifying Pace.
The colt recorded his fourth career win in a handy 1.52-7 mile rate, impressing Anthony.
"He's a nice type who is only going to get bigger and better. He certainly looks an ideal Queensland Derby prospect," he said.
"We were pleased with Tim's winners, particularly the square gaiter Majestic Courtney. He's a four-year-old now, and he's built a picket fence with consecutive wins at his past five – I think he should be in free-for-all class in another 12 months."
The Butt brothers will be based in the Logan-Jimboomba district, about an hour south of Brisbane during their Queensland campaign. While Tim is already there, Anthony and partner Sonya Smith will drive up with three horses this week from their base at Camden, near Menangle.
"We'll end up with a pretty nice team because All About Dreams and Cheesy Fingers have some class. They'll compete in suitable races with their main goal being the Queensland Oaks," Anthony said.
"Unfortunately, we won't have our grand campaigner My Field Marshall with us. After he injured himself in the Miracle Mile, Tim made the decision to give him a long spell," he said.
And while the visiting NSW raiders are sure to be busy with preparing and racing their big team, they are all looking forward to the warmer weather.
"There were no arguements when the idea was put forward to head north for a while-it's starting to get a little cool back home in Sydney," Anthony said.
"I don't think any of us can imagine anything better than getting a little bit of the sunshine on a working holiday!"
Terry Gange
NewsAlert PR Mildura