"He is a very nice horse and I have no doubt that he will graduate onto the Grand Circuit in the next couple of years. He has performed really well in Australia lately and he did a great job just to make the field after making an error early last week" Butcher said.

"He is not at the same level as Elsu or Changeover at the same age but he is still a very nice horse."

A decision by the New South Wales Harness Racing Club to require Chariots Of Fire aspirants to compete in qualifying events in the fortnight leading up to this week's $200,000 race nearly backfired when All Tiger galloped at the start last Friday giving his rivals a big start.

"It's hard to pinpoint what actually happened when he missed the start but one of his pins had come out and he wanted to run away from the outside fence. A couple of the local boys told me that the track slightly falls away up high and he may have become unbalanced as a result but he only missed the one wee stride and galloped."

"I thought I was in a lot of trouble because I knew I had to run in the first two to make the field and I was more than 40 metres behind the last horse once he settled down and got going."

It's only twelve months since a Kiwi visitor won the event. Ebony Gem blasted out of barrier one and led throughout to record the fastest Chariots win ever and while All Tiger will start from the same draw Butcher is unsure whether he will adopt the same tactics.

"I will need to sit down and watch the videos in the lead up to Friday night because I haven't seen the first night of qualifiers and they tell me that Sammy Maguire is a very nice horse. You can't fault drawing gate one in a Gr.1 race and he has got enough speed to lead if I wanted but I need to learn more about my rivals before deciding whether I will hold the lead or look for cover."

"With no passing lane at Harold Park it does change your tactics slightly but all the runners seem to get their chance on the track so it won't worry me sitting behind the leader. He sat behind the leader in Queensland and won the 4 year old Championship, so he is versatile."

Auckland Reactor, the son of Mach Three,  has been the measuring stick for the New Zealand four year olds this season and while Butcher is quick to point out there is a big gulf between the Mark Purdon trained entire and the rest, he believes that All Tiger has continued to improve throughout the season.

"Auckland Reactor is the obvious standout but I think he's right up there with the rest of the four year olds in New Zealand. He has run some really big races over here and has competed against Auckland Reactor and hasn't been disgraced. He really has developed as the year has gone on."

Butcher is expecting All Tiger to be fitter for last Friday night's effort despite consistent racing in Australia recently.

"I think he will be super for Friday night because he looked a wee pretty last week and I think that would have tightened him right up. "

The Courage Under Fire Chariots Of Fire is race six at Harold Park on Friday night. It will be the final time the event will be run at the Glebe circuit with the event due to start at 9:15pm.

Amber LOVELOCK