Tim’s brother Anthony was the premier driver during the TAB Queensland Constellations carnival in 2021, winning several Group races including the Group 1 Sunshine Sprint.
And, Tim’s daughter – Kate – has also recently relocated to Brisbane to work with the Albion Park Harness Racing Club.
Kate’s younger brother Riley is another key factor in the stables move north, Tim says.
The son of a gun is a keen driver and will increase his involvement in the training side of the industry once the stable is established at Toorbul.
“I am hoping to go into partnership with him in training,” Tim said of Riley.
“He is looking to go to the next level and that will be a big part of it, with the training as well, and my wife Andie.
“We will need to start again looking for that next champion but we have a couple of really promising two-year-olds that could be derby prospects next season.
“We will continue to look for Kiwi horses to purchase for the Inter Dominion and that type of thing.”
Butt, who has races such as the Miracle Mile, New Zealand Cup, Auckland Cup and Hunter Cup on his resume, is hoping to have a team of 15-20 pacers and trotters in Queensland, using the word “boutique” to explain what his stable will look like.
He is keen to be apart of the QBRED scheme and expects to be busy at the 2022 APG Yearling Sales later this month.
Butt is hopeful youngsters like Borella and Mac O’Reilly will be able to hit the ground running in Queensland, as well as four colts he has high hopes for.
“The lifestyle and getting the right property were key, in Melbourne you had a lot of winters like New Zealand,” he said.
“When we raced in New Zealand, we based ourselves in Christchurch but we raced so much in Auckland as well as Sydney, Perth and Melbourne.
“We see Queensland as the base where we want to live and be happy to be in the right environment for the horses and if we have a good horse, we can take them to those other locations pretty easily.
“Hopefully this is a good place to keep and develop your horses, close to the beach, horses thrive in those kind of places.”
Butt received a positive response from his existing owners around the imminent move and is always on the hunt for more connections, he said.
By Jordan Gerrans