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Winners:

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Raglan upsets stablemate

At $1.20 on the tote, the Tim Butt-trained Stunin Cullen was clearly the one to beat in Friday’s Vero Handicap Pace at Addington. However stablemate Raglan caused the upset of the night when he upstaged the hot favourite in his first start of the season. The five-year-old gelding was the least favoured of the three Butt runners, which also included Cullen’s Creek, but a great drive from Mark Jones secured the win.

As the tapes flung back, Jones sent Raglan straight to the lead as Cullen’s Creek took the trail while Anthony Butt on Stunin Cullen sat quietly toward the tail of the field after a muddling beginning. Lord Forbes sat outside of the leader for most of the race, but the pressure never fazed Raglan.

There were no moves made until the home turn when Yokozuna peeled three-wide with Stunin Cullen quickly following suit. Sprinting from the back of the field, the favourite looked impressive however Butt had left his run too late. Raglan was able to hold off his favoured stablemate by a head at the line with Yokozuna finishing a length behind Stunin Cullen. It was close to a Butt-trained trifecta with Cullen’s Creek only a neck back in fourth.

Butt will now be looking forward to the NZ Cup with Raglan who was an impressive winner on the day last year in the 3-win mobile pace. That was his first start since joining the Butt stable and since then has won four and placed six times in his 13 starts. His biggest win was in January when he won his first Group race, the G3 Northland Southland Cup. His lifetime statistics are 32 starts, seven wins, and 11 placings for $110,880 in stakes.

It was a good night at the office for Butt who arrived at Addington with nine runners and left with three winners and three place getters. Along with Raglan, he also won with Ray in Race 1 and Absolute Classic in Race 6. Six-year-old trotter Ray had not been to the races since November 2008 and looked in great form on his return, while Absolute Classic easily won on debut. Raglan’s driver Jones also had a good night with three winners himself. He took out Race 2 with Algeepee and Race 9 with Jackaroozy, both of which he trains.

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Mainland Banner sold for $135k

The Cullen Breeding Dispersal Sale was held at Addington Raceway on Sunday with every lot sold and $732,000 in turnover. Top price went to 2005 NZ Cup winner Mainland Banner who is currently in foal (via embryo transfer) to Mach Three. The daughter of Christian Cullen was sold for $135,000 to Peter O’Rourke as agent.

Results:

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