Racing: Brilliant workout before Jewels pleases trainer

A perfect workout at Cambridge yesterday has convinced champion trainer Tim Butt the only horse who can beat The Muskeg Express at the Jewels is himself.

Butt is going into the $200,000 juvenile male pacing final confident he has the best horse and that he can even sit parked and win.

While it may sound arrogant to some, that is not Butt's style, he simply believes his immature freshman pacer could be something special and that he has the right draw to show it.

The Muskeg Express was going to win the $300,000 Sales Series Pace at Addington two starts ago until he rolled into a gallop at the 100m mark.

The heartbreak continued a week later when he galloped away in the Sires' Stakes Final, staging a remarkable recovery to run third to Major Mark.

Those two performances have suggested The Muskeg Express has a huge motor but maybe not the chassis to contain it just yet, which hardly sounds a recipe for success in a frenetic mile at Cambridge on Saturday.

Yet, Butt says the tighter track doesn't bother him heading into Saturday. In fact, not much does.

"I worked him here this morning and he handled the track beautifully," Butt told the Herald last night.

"The track is very good because there is plenty of banking on the bends and he isn't touching a knee or anything like that, so the track won't be an excuse."

Butt says barrier three is perfect for the big son of Christian Cullen who will be looking to emulate his big sister Lauraella, who won her division of the Jewels at Cambridge two years ago.

"From barrier three, I think he can just go out under his own steam and then get handy."

Butt says The Muskeg Express showed in the Sales Series he can sit parked and still beat most of his rivals on Saturday, although he admits that depends on where favourite Major Mark gets to from barrier one at the start.

"He has been the other leading juvenile this year so if he leads he will be tough, but he has had a longer season than our horse.

"Mark [Purdon] is great at managing them so he will be the one to beat but I think I have potentially the best horse in the race."

Butt has added bloomers to The Muskeg Express' gear in at attempt to get him to fill his hopples more confidently at the start but it is still a fingers-crossed job.

"I know he is good enough to win but he is just immature physically.

"But we have been massaging his growing pains away and I am sure he will be right for Saturday."

The Muskeg Express and Major Mark dominate betting on their final, with Major Mark at $1.50 and The Muskeg Express at $3.50.

Both are too short to back seriously on the fixed odds but The Muskeg Express will almost certainly be longer on the tote on Saturday.

Money has now started to come on the fixed-odds markets for many of Saturday's favourites, with pressure also from multi bets.

Beaudiene Bad Babe ($1.80), Bettor Cover Lover ($1.80), Miami H ($1.80), De Lovely ($1.50) and Russley Rascal ($1.50) have moved in from their opening quotes, leaving most of the markets hovering around the 138-140 per cent level.

That means punters should wait till Saturday before becoming involved.