Ballarat Pacing Cup night has long been a big stage for New Zealand reinsman Anthony Butt.
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He has won the group 1 Ballarat Pacing Cup four times, going back to Stunin Cullen in 2011 and also on the great Smolda in 2017.
Butt is now based in Victoria permanently, training a big team with partner Sonya Smith.
He trains for two of Australasia's biggest owners - New South Wales-based Emilio and Mary Rosati.
Butt was again at Bray Raceway in force on Saturday night, this time with five horses from his own stable.
And once again he had a night out at Ballarat and District Trotting Club's biggest meeting of the year.
This time though he had to settle for third in the cup, with his rising star Wolf Stride flashing home behind Lochinvar Art.
Butt did not let that stop him as he trained and drove a treble.
He began with Cobram Pacing Cup winner Perfect Stride ($2.80) in the PETstock Puppy School Pace, 2200m.
Butt has a big opinion of the four-year-old and has already indicated he might be a Ballarat Pacing Cup prospect next year.
Butt also had third-placed Alpine Stride in the same race.
He then captured the last two events on the 10-race program.
Prestige Stride ($1.20) led throughout in the PETstock Grooming 3yo Pace, 1710m, and did the same of on Boots Electric (2.30 favourite) in the PETstock Pet Adoption Pace, 1710m.
HORSHAM trainer-driver Aaron Dunn also produced a double.
Dunn scored with Shady Azz ($7.80) in the PETstock Pace, 2200m, and Rollova ($8.10) in a Mercury80 heat over the short distance of 1200m.
Dunn said Shady Azz was lucky to be alive, had survived a bout of colic, which led to him having 3m of his intestine removed.
He said it occurred while at a veterinary surgery having a bone chip attended to.
Dunn said had been only a 50 per cent chance of surviving .
He said Shady Azz was his first metropolitan class winner as a trainer and owner..
Rollova was an emotional win for owner Stephen Blacker, who struggled to hold back the tears after the five-year-old crossed the line.
Dunn wore a black armband in memory of Blacker's friend Duncan Craw.
The Warrnambool 32-year-old died while while snorkelling in South Australia.last week and is believed to have been attacked by a shark.