Zachary Butcher sidelined until September

By Michael Guerin

Harness racing’s gain will be social basketball’s loss when superstar driver Zachary Butcher makes it back to the racetrack in September.

The 35-year-old has been a notable absentee from the fields at Alexandra Park and Cambridge in the last five weeks, having not driven since having an operation to replace the ACL in his left knee on June 3.

While any form of horse racing comes with physical risk, Butcher’s injury had nothing to do with racing.

“I actually did it playing social basketball in May,” he says, now able to laugh at himself.

“It was nothing too spectacular, I jumped up, landed awkwardly and blew the ACL.

“It definitely proved to me I am no basketballer.”

With driving horses, even in races, not needing any great deal of lateral knee movement Butcher was still able to drive on for a few weeks before his operation.

“It was an annoying pain but nothing really bad but when I had the operation in June I had to stop driving and I am now doing heaps of rehab to strengthen that leg,” explains Butcher.

“The medical staff have been amazing. They actually took some of my patella tendon and used it to replace my ACL, it is pretty amazing what they can do.

“And they have given me a whole range of rehab exercises which I am going through now.”

Butcher and wife Laura (formerly Dalgety) head to Europe for a belatedly honeymoon this week so you won’t see his name back in the harness racing fields until close to September.

“I am being really diligent with the rehab and we are heading to Europe so I am sure there will be plenty of walking when we are there to strengthen the leg up.”

With London the first stop on the couple’s trip Butcher is hoping England can beat Argentina in their FIFA World Cup semi final so they make the World Cup Final.

“We are going to be in London on Sunday and I reckon it would be epic to be there if England were in the final.”

Upon their return Butcher says he expects to be straight back into race driving.

“Technically I could still be driving now because sitting in the cart doesn’t hurt it but if something went wrong, like I had a spill or something, I’d hate to have to go through this all again.

“But I will keep doing the rehab and to be honest the mental break won’t do me any harm and then I will be really ready to get back to the races when we return.”

Even after having not driven for six weeks Butcher still sits fourth in wins for the season among North Island-based drivers with 30 wins for the season.

The northern premiership is headed by Andre Poutama, whose career-best season already has him up to 49 wins and fourth on the national premiership behind Blair Orange, John Dunn and Carter Dalgety.

In a sign of the changing times in the northern driving ranks junior drivers Crystal Hackett (40 wins) and Harry Orange (34 wins) sit second and third in the northern drivers ranks.

For context though many of the north’s most successful reinsman drive far less now than they did at their busiest.

Tony Herlihy, who would still be considered by many to be the best driver in the North Island, has only had 117 drives in the first six-and-a-half months of the season, where Poutama has already driven in 278 races this season, with their strike rates almost identical.

Butcher has the best strike rate of New Zealand’s professional harness drivers with Hackett in the top five for strike rates in a break out season for the 22-year-old.