The King of the Cup says tonight’s $500,000 Del-Re National A. G. Hunter Cup isn’t the race it used to be.

And seven-time winner Anthony Butt says that is actually a compliment.

Butt’s remarkable dominance of the Hunter Cup started with a Blossom Lady double back in 1993 and ‘94, the second time off 30 metres in an era of pacing titans.

Back then the Hunter Cup was a 3280m standing start, but eventually as the breed improved and times went ballistic, the Hunter Cup’s handicap nature meant some champions skipped the race.

“It has always been a great race but over the years, as the game changed, either the standing start, the distance or the handicaps didn’t suit the occasional top horse,” Butt said.

“But that suited us.”

He speaks of he and brother Tim, who trained five of his Cup-winning drives.

“The race used to be perfect for us New Zealanders because we had horses who had come through a hard summer of standing start staying races.

“Now with the move to it being a mobile 2760m there is no reason for the absolute best horses to ever dodge it any more and that makes it harder to win.

“You see that this week with Lochinvar Art and King Of Swing, the two best horses racing are in there off level marks with horses like Wolf Stride (trained by Butt), and that makes it a lot harder for us.”

Yet Butt isn’t totally buying into the theory that Lochinvar Art punches through from the back row to eventually lead, which has fuelled his shortening into $1.30.

“These types of races are rarely that easy, especially from the second line, but I do love the horse. He (Lochinvar Art) reminds me quite a bit of Blacks A Fake in that he has all the weapons.”

Butt hopes some early pressure will bring his hope, Wolf Stride, into the race, but admits after a stellar rise his next campaign will be when he is at his best.

Still, Butt and partner Sonya Smith are to be feared in any race at the moment, with 13 winners in 24 starts so far this year.

“We are loving training in Victoria, we have so many options and I think it suits our style more,” he said.

“And I think we have a really good chance in the (4YO) Bonanza (tonight) with Perfect Stride, so even if I don’t get another Cup tonight we can get a Group 1.”

READ MORE AHEAD OF THE HUNTER CUP:

>> Moran ready to step into unknown with brilliant Arty

>> Group 1 game plans, tips and punting chat

>> Pacing Priest's deep faith in Triple treat

>> The deep-dive runner-by-runner guide