Racegoers cheer on the champ with posters specially printed by the club.
Blair’s yells go unheard at the start and finishing cheers can’t quite get the champ up
By Barry Lichter • 31 December 2022
Hundreds of cheering racegoers tried to set The ‘Go Copy That’ party alight at Alexandra Park tonight but the only yells that really mattered went unheard seconds before the start of the Lincoln Farms Franklin Cup.
Young and old alike cheered and waved the club’s specially printed ‘Go Copy That’ posters as the little champ answered driver Blair Orange’s urgings in the dying stages, seemingly holding off the late charge by Alta Wiseguy.
The pair went across the line locked together but no sooner had the New Year’s Eve revellers, including Copy That’s owners Merv and Meg Butterworth, taken heart from commentator Aaron White’s call: ‘I think he’s got it a nose’ the photo finish revealed otherwise.
Alta Wiseguy, outer, spoils the “Go Copy That’ party.And all of a sudden an unfortunate glitch a split second before the start of the last harness race of the year loomed large in the post-mortem.
When Orange found himself almost breasting the 30 metre tape, as the horses were moving into line, he yelled out to starter Frank Phelan to try to abort the start.
“I was just on the barrier, getting too close to it, and was yelling out to Frank to hang on.
“I had to ask the horse to stand still, and he just paused for half a second when the tape went.”
Phelan later said he didn’t hear Orange’s call - “I was waiting for the front ones to come up because I knew Blair was ready.”
Copy That takes two steps backwards and rears slightly as the Franklin Cup tapes are released.The upshot was that when the tape dropped, Copy That took two steps backwards and by the time he hit stride he had added another 10 metres to his handicap.
It wasn’t long before that little mistake was exploited as first Alta Wiseguy, then Kango led at a blistering pace.
“They ran like cut cats early,” Orange said. “They were really burning.”
With two laps to run, Copy That is 50 metres behind leader Kango.By the time Copy That turned into the home straight with two laps to run, he was 50 metres behind the leader.
“I had to really ask him to catch the field,” Orange said. “We just had to run too fast and you can’t run 29 quarters that early.”
It wasn’t until 1300 metres from home that Copy That really tacked onto the back of Hot And Treacherous, third in the running, but at that stage Orange was happy enough with how the horse felt.
And when they ran only 29.6 down the back straight, Orange was able to give his horse a much needed breather.
Orange waited in the hope he could flush out Tony Herlihy on Hot And Treacherous but was forced to take off and was momentarily pushed three wide when making his run.
The crowd cheered his fast dash forward and again erupted turning for home when he shot clear of Kango, with Alta Wiseguy left to make up a two length leeway.
“I knew the other one was getting close and my horse really tried to the line. I wasn’t sure if I’d won and even though he lost out by a nose it was a super run.”
Owner Merv Butterworth and driver Blair Orange discuss the merits of Copy That’s huge effort.Copy That’s corrected time for the 2700 metres was 3:18.1, just nine tenths of a second outside the one-time national record set at Auckland by Triple Eight, a former stablemate of Alta Wiseguy.
Though Copy That now holds the 2700 metre record of 3:16 set at Cambridge in October, his effort was still full of merit.
Trainer Ray Green described the effort as “a good tough run.”
“He had it won ’til the last stride and you’d have to say it was his best run in defeat.”
Merv Butterworth said given the ground Copy That had to make up you could not be disappointed.
Meg Butterworth said the run showed just what a big heart the horse had.
“Seeing all those kids waving ‘Go Copy That’ signs made the race a success,” she said.
The Franklin Cup, reduced from the advertised stake of $50,000 to $42,375, saw Alta Wiseguy take home $27,500 and Copy That $7750, boosting his bankroll to $1,402,401.
Copy That is now booked to fly to Melbourne on January 11 with his first assignment the A$150,000 Ballarat Cup (2710m) on January 21.
More news in Harness
The dream’s alive but Nate tells why he’ll wait for ‘Harry’ before racing Eric again
Ray gives reformed Rascal his ‘most likely to succeed’ report from the pole on Friday night
Ray doesn’t pull any punches about Sugar Ray but punters weigh in nonetheless
Partners and pedigree made Johnny Lincoln’s win special - but where was everyone?
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them
Nathan’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Im Not The Maid
5.14pm
“She went pretty well last week considering they came a fast last half (56.3) and she sat parked from the 800. She’s back to the amateur grade, and should get a good run from the two draw, so hopefully we can get a bit of cash.”
Race 4: Dreams Of Eric
6.38pm
“He didn’t handle the right-handed bends at Auckland last week (galloping at the 300) so we’ll stick to Cambridge from now on. There’s a bit of gate speed in the race so Harry (Harrison Orange) should be able to sit in somewhere. I think he’s a good chance to run top three.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Leo Lincoln
5.59pm
“He’s racing very well. He would have run second last week (to American Me) had he not spooked at the winning post. These are tidy horses he’s racing against but he’s holding his own.”
Race 1: Kevin Kline
5.59pm
“He’ll go better back to a mobile start. He did well to finish so close last week after a slow start than having to do all the donkey work when parked for the last lap. Maurice really likes him because he just puts him into cruise control and he keeps going.”
Race 3: Lincoln Downs
6.58pm
“She’s not as good as the other filly but some lift their game when the money’s up so maybe she can pick up a cheque.”
Race 3: Lincoln’s Spice
6.58pm
“She looks a pretty decent chance of winning. She’s a real little tradesman, does nothing wrong, is easy to handle, is a nice drive, tries hard, is great gaited and has the potential to get stronger.”
Race 5: Tyson
7.51pm
“We found out he raced with a virus last time. The next morning snot was pouring out his nose and that’s why he didn’t finish it off as well as we expected. He only whacked away in the run home. With that gone, he should race better.”
Race 5: Johnny Lincoln
7.51pm
“I think he’ll be competitive and he’s the best of ours in the race. He won well last week and has trained on well. He’s promising. I couldn’t go as far as to say he’s a classic colt yet but we’ll find out soon enough.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.51pm
“He’s doing my head in. He had no excuse for breaking last week. Maurice (McKendry) didn’t blame the wet track. He said he was gliding along, travelling beautifully, when for no apparent reason he put in big steps. I’ll put a hood on him this time to see if it’s a nervous issue.”
Race 8: The Rascal
9.23pm
“All going well, he should win what is a poor maiden field. He’s elevated himself from the transfer list and is going well now. He doesn’t have huge gate speed, so he may not lead but he should get a good trip from one. On paper, he’s our best chance of the night.”
