The gelding looked promising as a young horse and won his first start. He was then beaten by a neck by Rubira in the 2024 Kindergarten Stakes before finishing fifth in the G1 Diamond Creek Farm Two Year Old Classic in a hot field that included Marketplace, Rubira, Got The Chocolates, Always Dreaming and Bettor’s Anvil.
He had one more start as a two-year-old, finishing fourth, but then missed his three-year-old season completely.
“He was a smart two-year-old boy. Then he hurt a leg, so we gave him some time off, and then he got a virus, so we gave him a huge long period of time,” Butt said.
Owned by Don Bates, Ukraine was back in training in October last year before completing four tests ahead of his return to action at Rangiora at the start of the month, where he finished second. He then went to Nelson and walked two-thirds.
“He was doing well at first and I took him to Nelson and he had two good races without much luck. That trip finished him off perfectly. He’s getting to where I want him to be fitness-wise.”
Butt says despite the long break from the circuit, Ukraine’s talent is evident.
“He’s still got that high speed. He’s such a high-performing son of a bitch who’s been out of action for so long that it’s taken some time to get him into top condition. Now that he’s got a few races under his belt, he’s starting to get there.”
In yesterday’s race, Seth Hill got the gelding into a nice position early on, behind third favorite Waikaka. When Lonnekers challenged Waikaka by turning inside, Hill chose an outside running line instead of the passing lane. Despite running around a bit in the home stretch, Ukraine defeated Classic Linc by one and a half lengths, while Lonnekers was half a head back in third.
UKRAINE REPEAT
“Once he gets to the front, he thinks the job is done. I think a little bit of racing will do him some good.”
The win was Ukraine’s second in eight starts.
“He will just race through the numbers now.”
For full race results, click here.
Through Bruce Stewartfor Harnesslink
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