Husband and wife team Marc and Kristy Butler will have their final runners from a permanent Tasmanian base in Hobart on Sunday before they relocate to Kyabram in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley.
One of the reasons for the move is for a better work-life balance with their young family, along with more racing options and opportunities for their stables, and with Kristy’s Equine Sports Therapy business.
“It will be a lifestyle change. We have struggled with Oli, having races on Friday, trials on Saturday and then races on Sunday. It just doesn’t work for us raising a family. Now he is at school, all he wants to do is play sports, and with Mark and I working 18 horses, he has had to miss out on that,” said Kristy.
“We are looking at getting into pre-training so we can have more of a work-life balance, which we can’t do here as there is no demand for it down here.
“We have six of the horses currently in Victoria with a pre-trainer until we get there, and then we have five racehorses that are leaving next week. We will be over there and have the place set up before they arrive.
“There are more racing options. Where we are, we have four tracks within an hour. We will have to go a bit longer than that to go to Melton but to go to Melton, you need that class of horse to go there, and it will be less travel time than it currently is for us to go to Hobart, and we aren’t that far to the New South Wales border.
“The prize money looks better on paper here in Tasmania, but we race twice a week, and the other week there were only 13 races across two meetings, and it’s going to be hard as a few mainland stables are looking at heading over (to Tasmania), a couple of them are trying to buy pop’s (Dick Eaves),” explained Kristy.
While the Butler name will still bob up in Tasmanian form guides with their Tasmanian-bred horses, their last meeting, while permanently based in Tasmania, will be in Hobart on Sunday, where they will saddle up three runners.
Her first runner is Cuzzy Bro, who has drawn the pole in the Hobart Phoenix Basketball Association Pace (1609m).
“He is a nice little horse that has drawn well and is one of our better chances.
Kristy said Franco Tyson “Went well the other week” when second in Launceston last week behind How Sweet, with the gelding lining up in race four.
Her final runner is the Iden Landy Lincoln, who has drawn the pole in race six.
“She should figure in the first three from the draw, Waterfront (pre-post favourite) is pretty classy,” the trainer said.
