Anthony Butt with Make Way, who will be scratched from Melton on Saturday night.
Poor Make Way: now he’s got a sore throat - but Ants says he’ll bounce back quickly
By Barry Lichter • 1 October 2020
Make Way will not start at Melton on Saturday night after going off colour in Melbourne.
Trainer Sonya Smith and partner Anthony Butt were happy with the way the horse travelled from Sydney but after a couple of days of being off his feed they called a vet this morning to check him out.
“He’s got an inflamed throat and some gunk down there,” Butt said. “It’s not like him not to eat and it’s obviously hurting him to swallow.
“He could go round on Saturday night but you’d risk flattening him. It’s a shame as his work before we left home was really good.”
Smith and Butt have made Melton their base for the next few weeks, staying with a dozen horses at Sandy Kilgour’s property, originally set up by former top Kiwi horseman Bob Cameron and leading owner Kypros Kotzikas.
“He’s been here before so he settled in well but then we get this hiccup.”
Butt had been hoping Make May’s troubles were behind him after first a lingering foot abscess then a bad cold kept him sidelined for the last three months.
“He’ll come right pretty quickly but I’m not sure if there’s a race for him next week with the Victoria Cup and Vicbred two-year-old finals on. Hopefully we’ll find a nice race for him in the next fortnight.”
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Ray’s comments
Wednesday at Cambridge
Race 3: Spiritual Bliss
1.10pm
“You can’t fault what she’s done up here and she’s trained on really well since Manawatu. She seems to have a good motor and can carry her speed a long way. It’s a bit of a step-up on Wednesday, and she’s drawn out a bit, but she should be right in the fray.”
Race 4: Lincoln Lover
1.45pm
“It’s a huge drop in class for him on what he’s been racing. The Purdon horse Crippa Max looks the one to beat on his trial but I’m picking we’ll finish in the first three at worst. He’s very honest and does nothing wrong.”
Race 6: Lincoln Downs
2.55pm
“She got skittled early last time when one galloped in front of her, and that didn’t help. It would be nice to see her get a good trip, with no incidents, and see what she can do. She’s no superstar but she tries hard.”
Race 9: Leo Lincoln
4.31pm
“It’s his first race for more than four months and I’m picking he’ll need the run. It was a toss-up whether we went to the trials, but he’d probably have had no opposition, so it made sense to drop him in here. He’s training well and seems in good shape but whatever he does, he’ll improve on.”
