By MICHAEL GUERIN
STOCKHOLM - The real Lyell Creek is almost ready to show Sweden his best after a near-perfect week of training - well, apart from the moose incident.
New Zealand's champion trotter finally put the smile back on trainer Tim Butt's face yesterday as he took another step towards full health.
Butt yesterday returned from Lyell Creek's penultimate fast workout before the biggest test of his career convinced that the harness racing hero was on the road back to something like his best form.
The Canterbury horseman was shocked by how much condition Lyell Creek had lost because of travel and a diet change when he saw the millionaire trotter in Oslo two weeks ago.
That loss of condition converted into a gutsy but well-beaten fifth in the Oslo Grand Prix.
Since then Butt has been walking a tightrope - trying to get condition back on Lyell Creek but also working him hard enough to ensure he has the fitness needed to take on the best in the world in the Elitlopp on Monday morning (NZ time).
And for the first time since the Oslo defeat, Butt thinks he is winning that battle.
"I just didn't think we had enough time with only two weeks between the Oslo run and the Elitlopp, but he's really improved over the past day or so," Butt said.
The first step back came when Butt's assistant, Phil Anderson, gave Lyell Creek a light jog on a training track which runs through a forest 40 minutes outside Stockholm on Wednesday.
"'Prop' said it was the first time he's felt full of himself since Oslo and that's a very good sign."
The workout was not completely without incident, though. Anderson said Lyell Creek was shocked when a moose ran out of the forest, crossing the horse's path.
"We weren't in any danger because we were only going slow and the stableboys here said to watch out for moose.
"I think the moose was more shocked than we were, but I must admit, it isn't something I have come across in Canterbury before," said Anderson.
"I don't know much about moose, but he was a big sucker. Then again, I suppose he had never seen two Kiwis either."
That moose-sighting workout was followed by something a little more serious yesterday, and that was what really got Butt beaming.
"We got another sign he was on the improve quickly when he worked this morning. Anthony [Butt, driver] said he felt terrific in a 2400m workout in 3:12," said Butt.
"We've still got a few days up our sleeve and every one is going to help."
The champ's improvement has been so marked that Butt is now refusing to make any excuses for the race.
He said: "If the locals reckon he went well in Oslo, then they'll see a Lyell Creek improved 15 to 20 per cent."
Racing: Close encounter for Lyell Creek
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