The win by three lengths at Bushland Drive Racecourse will now elevate his six-year-old galloper in the weights to make it harder for him to live his dream of winning the $25,000 Kempsey Cup.

“Before I retire I want to win the Kempsey Cup and Butane is being set for it,” he said.

But the winning cheque of $11,360 and the 20-1 each-way odds he got were only part of the excitement the Krambach Cup produced for him.

He had promised to give 25-year-old Port Macquarie apprentice jockey Melinda Graham, daughter of Port trainer Jenny Graham, a winning ride and it was her three kilo allowance which helped pave the way for Butane’s win.

It was the jockey’s sixth win and her most notable in a flourishing career.

“The big drop in weight for my horse allowed him to win as he has been carrying up to 63kgs and only had 51kgs today,” said a happy and excited Ratcliff.

He has had two runner-ups and two fourth placings in the Kempsey Cup and wants to finally have a winner in Butane which notched its ninth win at its 53rd start.

Experts rated the race as the most open for years and the result emphasised the consensus.

Wyong trainer Damien Lane’s eight-year-old gelding Attitude Pays (7-1), scratched from Wyong on Sunday to run in the cup, looked the winner halfway down the straight until Butane was set alight from a trailing position.

Taree mare Lotsa Lobban (8-1), trained by Robert Barnes, was thought to be the leader but settled behind the speed and was a half-head away in third place, ahead of Cessnock’s Heaven’s Riches and early leader, Tamworth’s Sambora.

Graham said that when she asked Butane for an effort “he kept finding”.

It was a good meeting for Kempsey trainers as Tony Green’s four-year-old gelding Harvard Graduate (5-2 to 7-4) was heavily backed and made it two wins in a row in a just under a length win for jockey Glenn Lynch in the XXXX Gold Class 2 Plate over 1250m.

The gelding, bought from an advertisement on the internet, has won three races from 17 starts and led comfortably all the way to beat the fast finishing Wyong mare Crocea (6-1), a long head in front of Wauchope mare Moomoomashoo which was at the big odds of 70-1 for Wauchope trainer Michael O’Neill.

Lynch had a winning double, his other winner by 2.5 lengths was the heavily backed five-year-old Taree mare Alma Girl (7-2), trained by Bob Milligan for himself and Gary Kemp, in the All Pro Chemical & Cleaning Supplies Class 3 Handicap over 1600m.

Milligan said Lynch followed his instructions by getting the mare back to second last early before navigating five-wide on the turn to score running away from Port mare Golden Melody, which tried to lead all the way for trainer Margaret De Gonneville.

Four-year-old Port gelding All About Willy (11-2) kept up its consistency with a nose win, from Scone favourite Bellanora (10-9), for trainer Neil Godbolt and jockey Alison Threadwell in the Harrington Hotel Benchmark 75 Handicap over 1250m.

Threadwell said she thought she had been beaten in the last stride after leading all the way but the camera verdict gave it to the gelding which has posted seven wins and eight placings from 22 starts for prizemoney around $105,000.

Port jockey Marlon Dolendo was at his best in the lead to score by just over a length on six-year-old Taree mare Baby She Rocks (20-1), trained by Melissa Harrison of Taree, in the Nick Chambers Racing Stables Maiden Plate over 1250m.

Cessnock jockey Robert Thompson overcame an outside barrier to score by a long neck on five-year-old mare Pacific Queen (15-4), trained at Cessnock by Jeremy Sylvester, in the Hygain Maiden Plate over 1000m.

Port jockey Priscilla Schmidt had a winning double on four-year-old Wyong mare Marjessie (9-2), trained by Stephen Farley, in the Twin Palms Spring Water Maiden Handicap over 1400m and on another similar aged mare, Morado (10-1), for Broadmeadow trainer Paul Perry in the Bushland Tavern Taree Benchmark 60 Handicap over 1000m.

Marjessie came from mid-field to score by just over a length whereas Morado came from third to just nab victory by a short-head.