Copy That is out of Friday’s Holmes DG at Auckland and his New Zealand Cup tilt is in serious doubt.
Vets investigating Copy That’s lameness and Merv’s Sharp ‘N’ Smart in the wars too
By Barry Lichter • 3 October 2023
Copy That’s tilt at winning a third New Zealand Cup is over with the horse lame and withdrawn from Friday’s Holmes D G at Auckland.
And in a double blow for Melbourne owner Merv Butterworth, the Victorian campaign for Horse of the Year Sharp ’N’ Smart is also over as he has a viral infection.
Butterworth said trainer Ray Green felt something wasn’t right with Copy That last Friday and, while the soreness had since been isolated to his off foreleg, vets were still working to determine the exact injury.
“Until we know more there’s not a lot that we can say,” said Butterworth who said he had learned over the years to be accepting of such setbacks.
TAB bookies this afternoon suspended betting on the the $650,000 IRT New Zealand Cup, for which Copy That had been a clear third favourite.
Though Copy That had been beaten in two races so far this campaign, trainer but Ray Green reported he was deliberately “porky” as he was peaking for the November 12 feature at Addington.
The setback continues the rollercoaster ride Copy That has taken Merv and Meg Butterworth and Green on in recent years. A fractured splint bone saw him sidelined in December, 2021 but he recovered to win the cup for a second time and take his bankroll to more than $2 million.
Like Copy That, Sharp ’N’ Smart had been among the favourites for big spring races until he was an inexplicable failure in last Saturday’s Arrowfield at Hastings.
Trainer Graeme Rogerson had set the horse for the Melbourne Cup with lead-up races in either the Caulfield Cup or Cox Plate.
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Ray’s comments
Tuesday twilight at Cambridge
Race 2: Colonel Lincoln
1.35pm
“This looks a good race for him. We haven’t done anything with him since Thursday but, with natural improvement after such a long spell, he has to be the one to beat.”
Race 5: Onyx Shard
3.04pm
“She should be dangerous from two. It was a good effort to sit parked last week and you’d expect natural improvement from that fresh-up run. She’s a pretty good filly.”
Race 5: Commander Lincoln
3.05pm
“Onyx Shard looks a better chance from two but he has the advantage of being hard fit.”
Race 6: Kevin Kline
3.29pm
“This is a big drop in class for him and he is definitely the one to beat, on paper. From the inside draw you’re obligated to leave, or risk being crossed, but he gets out okay.”
Race 6: Debbie Lincoln
3.29pm
“It was a better run than it looked last time when she was held up in the home straight. She’s improving dramatically all the time and I expect her to give them a fright.”
Race 7: Lincoln La Moose
3.58pm
“The winning time was only 2:47 last week but It wouldn’t have mattered what time they went, he was going to win. This is harder but there’s no reason he couldn’t do it again.”
Race 9: The Big Lebowski
4.57pm
“He stands over them on class and you can’t fault what he’s doing. He’s a big winning chance, despite the 35 metre handicap. He’s the only one on the mark so he should step well and be the one to beat.”
