Sunshine Sprint – Group l
He sat parked and downed the King
1660 metre mobile, Albion Park July 17, 2021
Owner Merv Butterworth has put a $1 million price tag on his superstar pacer Copy That, narrow winner of a thrilling Sunshine Sprint in Brisbane.
In one of the closest and most exciting finishes seen at Albion Park, the Lincoln Farms’ speed machine held off swooping late sprints by King Of Swing and Rockin Marty in a nose and nose photo finish that even Copy That’s driver Anthony Butt could not pick.
The effort prompted owner Merv Butterworth, stuck in Melbourne because of Covid restrictions, to rank the horse in the top few in Australasia and he revealed that bloodstock agents had tried to buy him during the week.
“The Americans asked me to put a price on him and I said $1 million. They coughed.”
Butterworth said he didn’t believe the price to be inflated.
“He’s earned nearly $600,000 in only 31 starts and in half of those he didn’t know how to race.”
Butterworth praised Anthony Butt for the confident way he drove Copy That – “parking those horses three wide.”
After being outsped from five on the gate, Butt managed to expertly manoeuvre Copy That into the one-out one-back possie.
But when Colt Thirty One started to mount a run from the back, Butt was out quick as a flash to go up to breeze outside pacemaker Turn It Up.
And Butt said afterwards his faith in the horse allowed him to hold that position and park the three-wide train.
When Copy That kicked strongly early in the home stretch he thought he would hold his rivals.
“Then in the last couple of strides it got really close and I didn’t know if I’d won.
“The world’s at his feet now. His manners are getting really good – he’s becoming a professional racehorse.”
Copy That clocked a mile rate of 1:52.4 for the 1660 metres.
