Merv Butterworth with his star pacer Copy That on a trip to Alexandra Park.
Hairline fracture puts paid to Copy That’s summer campaign in Victoria
By Barry Lichter • 27 December 2021
Copy That’s summer campaign in Victoria is over after X-rays today revealed he has a hairline fracture of the splint bone in his off hind leg.
Owner Merv Butterworth confirmed any hope the horse had of contesting the A$500,000 Hunter Cup on February 5 is gone after the diagnosis at the Ballarat Veterinary Clinic.
“It’s a mild fracture and it will take a couple of weeks to see how it’s healing before we decide on our next course of action.”
Butterworth was philosophical about the injury to Copy That, whose earnings are closing in on $1 million.
“He won’t be racing for a while but that’s the horse business. It could have been a much worse injury.”
While it is too soon to know how long Copy That will be sidelined the injury casts a huge shadow over his chances of competing in New Zealand’s two biggest autumn races, the new slot race at Cambridge, the $900,000 The Race on April 14, and the $400,000 Auckland Cup on May 27.
“We haven’t even thought about that yet. We’ve got many weeks to scratch our heads.”
The premature end to Copy That’s summer campaign comes as a huge disappointment for Lincoln Farms’ trainer Ray Green who had enjoyed a terrific run with the horse who has won 24 of his 45 starts and $964,297 in stakes.
Fractures of the second and fourth metacarpal (splint) bones are not uncommon and are far less serious than that to the cannon bone or damage to tendons and ligaments.
The splint bones are remnants of two of the five toes of prehistoric horses and run down either side of the cannon bone. They narrow as they go from the carpal or tarsal joint down, and form a “button” at the bottom or their length, a few centimetres above the fetlock.
The literature on splint bone injuries states rest is the most important factor for healing which can take anywhere from two weeks to two months. Horses must be confined to a box until inflammation has subsided.
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Angelic Copy
4.53pm
“She’s done everything right and trialled really nicely. I think she’s forward enough to give some cheek. She’s only small. You like to think when you get a good two-year-old like her that they’ll get stronger and transition into a nice three-year-old but she hasn’t grown an inch. But she tries hard and enjoys being out there.”
Race 2: Major Copy
5.28pm
“I’m looking forward to seeing him. You never really know ’til you get to the races but he’s trialled well enough to start and I wouldn’t be surprised if he went a good race, despite the draw. He’s a nice sensible colt who’s done nothing wrong and he could develop into a really nice three-year-old.”
Race 6: Lincoln Wave
7.22pm
“He was starting to get into the habit of switching off so we trained him in blinds this week and he went pretty well. He was good from a standing start at the trials with shorteners in and Maurice was actually quite bullish about his standing start manners and thinks that, in time, he’ll end up being a quick beginner. If he steps well, and can land in the first one or two, he’ll definitely be hard to get round.”
Race 6: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.22pm
“He’s not spectacular from a stand but he will get away, albeit sometimes a bit slowly. Lincoln Wave has more speed than him but if it comes down to a slugfest he’d be too strong as he’s rock hard fit.”
Race 8: Prince Lincoln
8.23pm
“The blinds go back on this week and if he steps and leads like he did three starts ago that would make him the one to beat. He showed with that win that he’s above average and will be a serious chance.”
Race 8: Rivergirl Bella
8.23pm
“You could argue she’s a Cambridge horse but sometimes when you throw them in with the bear cats they lift their game and I thought she was really good here last week. Tony (Cameron) said she’d have finished a bit closer too if he hadn’t had to take hold of her close to home (when he ran out of room and hit a marker pole).”
Race 8: Sammy Lincoln
8.23pm
“We’ve got blinds on him this week. Harry said he lost concentration a couple of times last week, including at the top of the straight, and thought he’d be a bit more on to it with blinds on. I still thought his was the run of the race last time - none of the others could have done what he did - and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him score.”
