Latest Covid lockdown could leave Merv out in the cold again for Copy That’s Jewels tilt

Victoria’s latest Covid-19 lockdown threatens to stop Copy That’s owner Merv Butterworth from coming to New Zealand for the Harness Jewels on Sunday week but he’s still hoping for some luck at tomorrow’s barrier draw.

Butterworth and his wife Meg had been booked to fly from Melbourne to Auckland on Wednesday in plenty of time for the Cambridge marquee event for which Copy That is a commanding $2.30 favourite in the $100,000 Four-Year-Old Emerald.

And with Lincoln Farms set to line up four other horses on the day - American Dealer, Tommy Lincoln, Arden’s Horizon and Sugar Apple - a big day is in store.

But Victoria will go into a seven-day circuit-breaker lockdown tonight after 11 new community cases of Covid-19 were announced today, bringing the total for the new cluster to 34.

And with the latest outbreak the extremely contagious Indian variant, and more than 10,000 primary or secondary contacts identified, Butterworth fears the lockdown might be extended further than next Friday morning.

Butterworth says he had been looking forward to seeing Copy That race in the end-of-season thriller after not being able to come to New Zealand during the horse’s brilliant winning streak.

It’s been nearly 15 months since Butterworth has been on track to see Copy That, the last time at Auckland on March 6, 2020 when the horse was a certainty beaten behind Amazing Dream in the Northern Derby, held up badly on the home turn before flying home late for second.

Since then Copy That has raced 19 times for 12 wins, three seconds and a third.

Copy That has enjoyed a spectacular run this season, winning 10 of his 16 races and earning $278,642, and until last Friday, had not been beaten this calendar year.

Butterworth is hoping he will still have time to get here if the transtasman bubble reopens next Friday.

“But if we can’t oh well, we won eight cups with Arden Rooney and didn’t see one of them. And the horse didn’t know we weren’t there.”

Butt drives in Brisbane

In the meantime Butterworth has been finalising plans for Copy That’s Queensland winter campaign and today revealed he had engaged top ex-pat Kiwi driver Anthony Butt to drive the horse in Brisbane.

Butterworth says he’s a great believer in horses for courses and while Maurice McKendry is a good fit for Alexandra Park, which he knows so well, and Blair Orange is an Addington expert, he will be committed to Krug for the $A250,000 The Rising Sun. It was important to have someone at the reins with local knowledge in Australia.

“You’ve got to know the local courses and the habits of the horses and drivers and there’s nobody better than Anthony Butt.”

Butt’s aggressive style should suit Copy That admirably for his four-race campaign which includes:

July 3: A$25,660 Wondai’s Mate Open NR 90+. 1660m

July 10: A$250,660 The Rising Sun. 3 & 4yo. 2138m.

July 17: A$100,000 Sunshine Sprint. Group I. 1660m.

July 24: A$250,660 Blacks A Fake. Group I. 2680m.