This is a public service announcement for punters: Mark Purdon is confident going into Addington’s mega-draft meeting tonight.
That means when assessing many of the traits on the stacked 13-breed card, you should start with the champion rider’s rides before looking elsewhere for your moneymakers.
It’s not unusual for Purdon to be confident when it comes to a few horses. After all, he has trained an army of champions who have been nearly unbeatable in a series of Group 1 races.
But this week there is extra spring in his step. He has been able to give the elite members of the team he trains with son Nathan in Canterbury the one-on-one attention that gets the best out of them.
It’s called the famous Purdon paint and tonight you can consider the team polished.
“We are very happy with them,” he says.
“The leading actors are the big names like Akuta and Oscar [Bonavena] are in very good places and so are most young people.”
Purdon is so happy that he is confident he can aggressively ride both Akuta, who starts at 25 meters at handicap pace, and Oscar Bonavena, who has a 20 meter handicap at open trot.
“Of course it depends on the race pace, but I wouldn’t be afraid to attack Akuta,” Purdon explains.
“He is a horse that can do some work and he is ready to do that this week if the race goes that way.”
That makes him the obvious danger of defeat in a small field with the Republican Party, but possibly still on his way up, while Akuta has had four races this campaign.
Oscar Bonavena won stunningly on the grass at Banks Peninsula’s last start but faces the double challenge of being 20 meters behind in the 2000 meters and his arch-rivals Bet N Win and Muscle Mountain are next to him.
“Luck will play a role but he’s in a really good place and I wouldn’t be afraid to do some work on him even though he’s best when ridden at speed,” says Purdon.
Purdon also talks unusually tough talk to Barrier 1’s Rubira in a red-hot Flying Stakes for the three-year-old pacers.
“I’d like to stay ahead of him,” he offers.
“I think he has more speed than Got The Chocolates and the only other horse I could follow is Marketplace, but if we handed the lead over to him and he didn’t resist any pressure I don’t think we could catch him.”
The father-and-son training combination has three repeats in the $150,000 NZBS Haress Million for two-year-old pacing mares and Purdon opts for Shezsofast as their best hope.
“All the fillies are doing well, but River (No. 1) is the one who has really done well since she came here, so she could be the improver.”
The champion trainer is also in the rare position of having two outside rides on favorites tonight in Midnight Diamond (R1, No. 6) and Arafura at the pace of the three-year-old fillies.
“I’m really impressed with Midnight Diamond. She’s a good, strong trotter, while Arafura was excellent late in the last start and will be hard to beat, although her stablemate Winelight will be a big danger.”
The Purdons have an expensive final starting flop Special Occasion in tonight’s $200,000 Harness Million for the young boys, but he faces a deep field headlined by undefeated Jumal and the impressive pair of Zeus Lightning and Allamerican player in what will be the final youth race of the season so far.
For full race entries, click here
Through Michael Guerinfor Harness Racing New Zealand
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