By Glenn Davis
It will be an emotional moment for veteran trainer Garry Dickson and connections of Proximate Cause if the five-year-old gelding can conjure another win at Townsville on Thursday.
Proximate Cause is raced in a syndicate which included the late Terry Butts and his family and will be striving for his sixth win in 17 starts in the Open Handicap over 1300 metres at Cluden Park.
Dickson, 72, was a jockey in his younger days before taking out a trainer’s licence when he was 19.
He originally was apprenticed to the late Bart Sinclair Sr in Brisbane but couldn’t cope with city life and left to do his riding in the bush.
“I’ve only got three horses in work, but I still ride them all trackwork,” Dickson said.
Dickson is not overly confident about Proximate Cause’s chances.
“He’s still a Class Five horse in open company but I want to stretch him out in distance that’s why he’s going to 1300 meres,” Dickson said.
Since making his stable debut for Dickson in January, Proximate Cause has started six times over 1000 metres and is coming off a last-start second to Dawn Too Good in a Benchmark race at Townsville on March 24.
“His brother, Prized Icon, won a Victoria Derby for James Cummings but he’s slower than me pushing a wheelbarrow,” joked Dickson.
“It’s a hard race and they’re all dangers but it will be very emotional for me and the Butts family if he does win.”
Butts was a passionate racing enthusiast before losing a two-year-old battle with cancer last month.
Butts, who was 79, settled in Townsville after travelling the world with his involvement in journalism, race calling and training.
He started his cadetship as a journalist at the Border Mail in Albury before relocating to Hong Kong where he worked over a long period for English newspapers and was the first English-speaking race caller in Hong Kong.
He also called races in South Africa.
He won numerous Cup races in North Queensland including the Bowen, Home Hill, Gordonvale, Ingham, Atherton and Cairns.
He also trained two Cairns Amateurs Cup winners as well as two Townsville Amateurs Cups.