KEY POINTS:
Philip Butcher has landed the hottest drive in harness racing.
The Cambridge reinsman will take the reins behind top four-year-old Awesome Armbro in Friday night's $400,000 Trillian Trust Auckland Cup.
It will be Butcher's first drive on Awesome Armbro in 18 months and comes after his brother, David, chose to stick with stablemate Winforu for Friday's contest.
Trainer Geoff Small said he was thrilled to have the brothers on his two cup starters, with Philip the ideal driver to fill in for David behind Awesome Armbro.
"While I think Awesome Armbro can win the race, I think he can't afford to work hard and still be a chance," said Small.
"And that is why I think Phil will be perfect for him.
"He isn't the sort of driver who will do something crazy and he can be very patient.
"So he will do the right thing by the horse and I think they have a hope of upsetting the favourites."
Butcher won't have the option of getting involved in the early fireworks on Friday night as Awesome Armbro has drawn one of the second line.
But the four-year-old has taken the next step in the last six weeks and Small says he is a genuine open class force in the making.
"You could argue this race might be a little too soon for him and, I'll be honest, if it was at Addington you wouldn't be setting him for it.
"But it is on our back doorstep and that is too good an opportunity for us to ignore.
"He has some big four-year-old races coming up later in the season though so I think he will be best driven cold and that is why I think Phil will suit him."
Small says the tempo of the race, which he expects to be frenetic, will decide which one of his two representatives ends up the best chance.
"If Winforu gets the right sort of run, he will be the better hope because he has been there and done that before.
"But if they go very hard, the younger horse might get one late crack at them."
Small admits he is concerned favourite Flashing Red may run the sprint out of many in the field, especially making life hard on the trio of four-year-old pacers.
"He (Flashing Red) is the horse to beat and, while some people think barrier one is a problem for him, I don't think it will matter with Anthony (Butt) in the sulky.
"He is one of the best drivers in the world and he doesn't get trapped away very often."
Winforu has not raced since being savaged in front in the Hunter Cup on February 12 but has pleased Small with his work this week.
"He is working well and would be about as fit now as he was during the Interdominions."
That is a glowing recommendation as Winforu won two heats of that series and finished second to Blacks A Fake in the final.
The champion trainer admitted he was happy his two cup chances were sleeping in their stables while most in the cup went to war in a lead-up race at Alexandra Park last Friday.
"There were some pretty tired horses in that race and I was quite happy to miss it, especially with a horse like Awesome Armbro."
While the Small pair have drifted in the market since the barrier draw there has been a flood of money for Flashing Red who has caved in from $3.80 to an anorexic $3.20.
"We just keep getting bets around the $1000 and $2000 mark for him," said TAB harness bookmaker Steve Richardson.
"I can't work out why people keep coming for him because he is short enough in our eyes. That is why we have moved him into $3.20. He is already our worst result and we don't want to take any more money on him than we have too."
Good results for the TAB include Waitfornoone and Classic Cullen, suggesting both could be drifted out later in the week.
