The Lazarus Effect peaking for Kaikoura feature
Garrick Knight - Raceform • November 1st, 2025 10:00 AM • 5 min read
It may have been ugly for punters, but The Lazarus Effect’s luckless run at Addington last Friday night has him primed for his main goal at Kaikoura on Monday.
His trainer Bob Butt is looking on the bright side after the sparingly raced four-year-old steamed home from a hopeless position for fourth behind It’s Tough in the hands of stable junior driver Seth Hill.
“I was rapt with the run,” Butt told RaceForm. “It didn’t work out as we had hoped, but maybe it was for the best. We didn’t want him to have a taxing run over the 2600 metres, especially with the Kaikoura race right around the corner.”
The $50,000 NZB Standardbred Yearling Sale Series Handicap is one of the highlight races at the annual Kaikoura Cup Day meeting.
“That’s the race we’ve been aiming him at for all of this prep. His fitness is spot on, and all things considered I couldn’t be happier.”
Given his comparatively low rating, The Lazarus Effect is one of just four runners on the front line, and that gives him a huge advantage over key rivals like Hadron Collider, Dreams Are Free and The Surfer.
“There’s some bloody nice horses in there, so to have that head start on them, especially at a track like Kaikoura, is so important.”
The Lazarus Effect is a prodigious talent but a day-to-day proposition due to chronic leg issues and that’s meant only eight runs since his debut 13 months ago.
“He does a lot of work on the water walker and is otherwise a very easy horse to train, but most good horses are.
“We have to keep an eye on his joints, but this time we want to look after him and get as many races out of him as we can.”
Butt has three other runners in on Monday and a couple the day before, and all of them have winning claims.
Gold Bullion tackles the $60,000 South Bay Trotters Cup, where he meets a strong field headlined by Oscar Bonavena and Mighty Logan. His last run – a fast-finishing third at Addington – was encouraging for Butt.
“He’s sort of a confidence horse, and he got into that grade where he can’t make his own luck anymore. He needs races to work out for him.
“Three starts ago he beat home Mighty Logan and he ran third in this race last year. So, if we can get away and get a good trip, he’s always got that speed at the end of his races.”
Ready Set Jet is a trotter on the up and one Butt thinks can go close to winning on Monday’s undercard.
“He’s in such a good space at the moment and I think he’ll be pretty hard to beat again. Last week he ran them the whole way and was too good. There are a few nice ones in, like Dreams Pat, but with his manners you’d think he’ll settle near the front and that’s a big help round that track.”
Rounding out the Monday team is maiden trotter Paramount Picture, and it’s simply a case of her needing to race up to her ability.
“She should just go out there and brain a maiden field because she has a hell of a lot of ability. But she’s let me down in her two runs for me this prep, so it’s not quite that simple. Nathan Purdon had her before me and I believe he had the same problem.
“I gave her a trial before her resumption, and she won by eight lengths in a jog, but then maybe I backed her up too quickly and that found her out. After her last run, we found out she was crook, so I’m happy to forgive her for that. She’s training well and we have to go into it with confidence.”
Butt has the trotter Amendment and one-win pacer Crystal in on Sunday. Crystal flew home for an unlucky fourth at Addington last Wednesday and would have won had the finish line come five metres later.
“She’s a bit like Gold Bullion – she can’t do an ounce of work, so it’s always in the lap of the gods how she’s going to go.
“A couple of times she’s gone really well, and the next week I have used her out of the gate and she’s let me down.
“There’s a hell of a lot of speed there, but she can’t do work, so we’ll be looking for a cosy trip and hope to outsprint them late.
“Amendment was disappointing on face value last week, but when I went back and reviewed things, I gave her a pass mark. She was last the whole way and they sprinted home in 58, so I just put a line through the run.
“Her prior runs were quite good, but Midnight Diamond is in there again this week and she’ll be very hard to beat.”
Amendment will be driven by Jaap van Rijn, from the Netherlands, in a heat of the World Drivers Championship.
“I don’t speak Dutch, so I’m not sure how I’m going to give him his pre-race instructions,” joked Butt.
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