Ray’s looking for some déjà vu so Copy That can join the trotting cup immortals

Lincoln Farms’ trainer Ray Green says Copy That is as good as he’s ever had him and he’s confident he can join an exclusive club of back-to-back winners of the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup on Tuesday.

Just 15 horses have won the cup in successive years since the first running in 1904 but Green believes Copy That deserves to join them.

The iconic list includes modern day heroes Lazarus, Terror To Love and Monkey King and leviathans of the past like False Step, Highland Fling and Indianapolis.

“I’m sure he’s that kind of horse,” says Green. “He’s a genuine Grand Circuit horse with speed and stamina and, with a good trip, he’ll be pretty hard to beat again. I’m looking forward to the race.”

Green is delighted with the way Copy That has thrived since flying in to Christchurch last Tuesday.

While the horse was tired for the first few days after the trip and a hard race at Cambridge four days earlier - when he became the first pacer in more than 40 years to win from a back mark of 70 metres - Green reports he’s in good shape now.

“I trained him on Saturday but not hard. He ran 2400 metres in 3:30 and the half in a minute. He didn’t need to do any more.

“He’s thriving, nice and relaxed, and happy. I’d say he’s as good as he’s ever been condition wise and health wise.”

Master stroke

Green believes taking Copy That to Victoria was the master stroke in his cup lead-up after the horse was sidelined for eight months when fracturing a splint bone last December.

“He was let right down after his injury and we had to build all that muscle up again. The kind of fitness you need at this level you can’t get at workouts and with a couple of cheap races.

“The Aussie campaign was great for him. I know we won only one race but I couldn’t have done here what I did over there unless I’d sent him down to Christchurch. And some of their races are a bit too tough - that Ashburton Flying Stakes was a burial ground for quite a few form horses.”

Copy That first, the rest nowhere, in last year’s cup. PHOTO: Ajay Berry/Race Images.Green says the version Addington racegoers will see of Copy That on Tuesday is a superior one to the horse who ran away with the 2021 cup.

“He’s grown a bit on last year and filled out a lot. He’s a much stronger horse than he was, a lot more muscular.”

Green shrugs off critics who say Copy That needs to lead on Tuesday to win.

“He’s a very versatile horse who can do it any which way you want him to. Sure, he’s won a lot of races on the front end but only because he was good enough to get there.

“The best place is in front, it’s a huge advantage, and from his draw he’ll have every chance to get there, but he can come from off the pace just as well, as you’ve witnessed in his recent runs.”

Before his New Zealand record-breaking Cambridge win, Copy That scored from a 55 metre handicap at Alexandra Park, rounding up his rivals so quickly in the home straight, he won going away by half a length.

“I’m not worried about where he ends up. I’d obviously like to see him get a good trip but it doesn’t worry me if he doesn’t make the front.”

Green says you can think of plenty of scenarios that could undo Copy That on Tuesday.

“With standing starts you never know what will happen. We certainly don’t need another rogue start like two years ago. If he missed the start (unlikely given his recent smart beginnings) he could end up out the back, or we could be parked the whole way, but that’s why we’ve got one of the best drivers in Blair Orange. He should be able to counter all that.

“But like everybody in the race we just need a little bit of luck and no bad luck.”

Self Assured, the forgotten horse of the cup, wins in 2020.For Green’s money, 2020 cup winner Self Assured is the forgotten horse.

“He’s drawn one and has Tony Herlihy on. If he gets a nice trip he’ll be extremely dangerous.

“The two Aussies will be tough, they’re both nice horses. But they’re both short on standing start experience and, if Majestic Cruiser is slow away, Rock N Roll Doo could be pushed to the back of the field, which will make it very hard for him.

“I don’t think the younger horses are up to it this year. Akuta and Old Town Road are potentially really good horses but possibly not just yet.

“We know we can win the cup, we did it last year and have the same draw, so let’s hope for some déjà vu.”