Racing: Jewels comes too late, says trainer

Champion trainer Tim Butt has voiced what many rival trainers might be thinking - the Harness Jewels needs to be moved.

Not physically - as Butt is more than happy to see Saturday's $1.5 million meeting at Ashburton - but to earlier in the season, possibly by a month.

Butt says Saturday's meeting comes too late at the end of an exhausting season for some of our best horses, including his own 3-year-old star Stunin Cullen.

Stunin Cullen is the fixed odds favourite for his Jewels division yet Butt says he has had enough for the season.

"He can still win because he is the most brilliant horse in the race," he said. "But to be honest, he has had enough for the season and really should be in the paddock.

"He could have been in work for the last 11 months and hasn't really had a decent break since and I think a lot of other horses are in the same boat."

Butt says that is why moving the Jewels forward by a month could be a good thing.

"Don't get me wrong, the Jewels are a great day and I am thrilled we have it. But I'd like to see it at the start of May.

"I know that would mean moving premier meetings at Addington and Alexandra Park but these things can be done."

Butt is our most successful open class trainer of the past five years and says asking our age group horses to race for such long periods is why many of them are burned out later in life and fail to become genuine cup horses.

He could have a point, too, as only a couple of the 2-year-olds who raced in the inaugural Jewels meeting two years ago will be back contesting 4-year-old races on Saturday.

"I think we need to sit down and look at the overall harness racing calendar and try and make sure the best horses get winter off to have a spell, grow and develop."

Stunin Cullen has been sensational this season, rating a 1:54 mile rate winning the Sires' Stakes in November before storming through the Christmas racing and then capturing the $600,000 Woodlands Derby on March 6.

But he has not run a place in three starts since.

"I think the others have caught up to him because of the long season he has had," admits Butt. "And Sleepy Tripp may be a more versatile horse.

"So if we have to give him a big start then we will struggle to win."

That makes the $4.50 on offer for the ultra-consistent Sleepy Tripp look good value, especially as the scratching of OK Courage yesterday means he moves into barrier seven and has a chance to use his speed.

Another favoured runner who will miss the Jewels is Kowhai Ford, one of our better juvenile trotters, who was also scratched yesterday.