Butcher lands double at home
Cambridge-based junior driver Benjamin Butcher might have been living in the shadow of his father David and older brother Zachary in recent seasons.
This year he has stamped his own mark as a quality reinsman.
This was evident at his home track recently when the 22-yearold registered a double on the eight-race card.
Butcher drove the Frank Cooney and Tate Hopkins-trained Somewhereinbrooklyn to win the fourth event by three-quarters-ofa-length, and three races later got the Steve Telfer-trained Ivana Flybye home by one-and-threequarter-lengths.
Employed by his father David in Cambridge, Butcher is now just one win shy of his personal best season of 19 wins, which he achieved in the 2013-2014 season, from 261 starters.
He placed 42 times that year and banked $140,091 in stakes.
With five months left in the current season, he is the North Island’s leading junior driver and is second to Matt Anderson (25 wins) on the national table.
Butcher has 18 wins, 33 placings and $197,628 in stakes from just 135 drives and his career best UDR strike-rate of 0.2395 speaks for itself.
‘‘Sure I’d like to win the New Zealand junior drivers’ premiership but it’s hard up here,’’ Butcher said.
‘‘They get more drives down south, but if I’m close heading into July, I’d like to give it a crack.’’
Butcher put his recent success this season down to getting a better class of horse to drive and ‘‘people are starting to believe in me’’.
‘‘I owe a lot to the likes of Steve Telfer and Stonewell Stud.
‘‘They have been a great help and horses like Ivana Flybye are going really well.’’
He said both his father and brother had been a great help to him both on and off the track.
‘‘I’ve still got a long way to go to get even close to them.
‘‘They are two of the best going around, but what they say is always a great help to me.
‘‘You never want to stop listening to people like that,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m just fortunate they are family.
‘‘They tell me when I’ve done well and they aren’t afraid to tell me where I’ve gone wrong.’’