KEY POINTS:
CHRISTCHURCH - The lump in driver Anthony Butt's throat was not caused by what he had just achieved.
It was there because of the man who helped him achieve it - and who couldn't be there to see it.
Butt won his second New Zealand Trotting Cup with a masterly, aggressive drive behind Flashing Red at Addington yesterday.
The veteran pacer and his cunning driver turned the country's greatest pacing race into trench warfare and Flashing Red was the best warrior.
The win might officially go down as a New Zealand win, with Flashing Red trained for the past two months by Butt's brother Tim and Phil Anderson in Canterbury.
But the epic home-stretch battle between the winner and fellow Australian pacer Cobbity Classic left little doubt the balance of power in the elite pacing ranks lies across the Tasman.
Yet power balances, winning percentages and personal glory were far from his mind as Butt brought Flashing Red back to the winner's circle.
He choked up during the post-race interview and again in more personal surroundings as recent family losses hit home.
Less than a year ago Butt's father, Murray, a hugely popular figure in harness racing, died suddenly.
Then last winter his grandfather, the incomparable Derek Jones, the gentleman genius of southern training, also passed away.
Butt and his brother Tim had lost their two most important role models in the space of eight months.
They responded as only champions can, training a string of feature race winners before yesterday's $500,000 triumph. They also lead the national trainers premiership.
"It was special to win this after losing Dad and DG [Jones]," said Butt as emotion overcame him. "It makes it mean a lot more."
Jones trained Butt's first New Zealand Cup-winning drive, Blossom Lady, in 1992 and Flashing Red is a male version of that great mare.
Both lacked the speed of the glamour horses but made up for it with hearts the size of Christmas hams.
Butt used that heart to run warm favourite Mainland Banner off her feet yesterday, blazing a fast last mile when he saw the defending champion make her move.
Mainland Banner, with an interrupted preparation, was not ready or able to bridge the gap and finished ninth, the first time in her career she has finished outside the top two.
But her driver, Ricky May, was not disappointed in the great mare's effort. "She had no chance the way the race unfolded but she never gave up.
"She will be back."
