After decades of dominating the New Zealand harness racing scene, trotting icon Mark Purdon is finding himself in unfamiliar territory as he prepares to line-up his first thoroughbred at Riccarton on Saturday – nervous.
The Purdon surname is synonymous with harness racing, with family patriarch Roy Purdon winning three New Zealand Trainers’ Premierships before being joined in partnership by son Barry in 1978, with the pair going on to win the next 17 of 18 premierships, and Barry going on to win a further two titles on his own account.
Mark Purdon showed his talents in the sulky as a top driver before following his father and brother into training in the late nineties, and scored his first premiership crown at the turn of the century.
Since then, his All Stars Racing operation has become the most revered training establishment in Australasia, winning 14 New Zealand Trainers’ Premierships and nearly every major harness race on either side of the Tasman.
Now in training partnership with his son Nathan, Purdon felt it was time to scratch an itch he has had for some time – train a team of thoroughbreds.
“I have been wanting to have a go for a number of years, but I have just never had the time. I thought if I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it,” Purdon said.
“I am in the twilight stage of my harness career and this would be a lovely way to finish off.”
Intent on following his new passion, Purdon went to New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale at Karaka in January where he purchased three yearlings, including lot 427, a Savabeel colt out of Pink Graffiti, a half-sister to Group One winners Glamour Puss and Vision And Power.
“He looked like a Bettor’s Delight (Champion Pacing Sire) to me, that was my first impression,” Purdon said.
“He is by Savabeel, who I really like. I went to the sales and thought it would be lovely to bring a Savabeel home. Of the ones I looked at, I liked him the most.
“I did a short list, went around them all and narrowed it right down to about eight horses. I then took Barry around with me and he liked this guy too and we ended up getting him, so we were delighted.”
Purdon went to $200,000 to secure his pick of the sale, out of Waikato Stud’s draft, and was delighted to welcome his siblings Barry, Owen and Suzanne into the ownership, aptly naming the colt after their late father – Captain Roy.
“When we bought him, Barry said he liked him and would take a quarter and said that he spoke to Owen on the way in and said he might like to take a quarter, so I thought we better offer Suzanne a quarter as well, we can race him as a family and name him after Dad. It was all done and dusted after the hammer went down,” Purdon said.
Purdon has been delighted with the progress of the colt and he is excited to kick-off both the colt’s racing career and his thoroughbred training career in the Nobby Bussell Memorial Two-Year-Old (800m) at Riccarton on Saturday.
“It’s very exciting and I am very nervous,” Purdon said.
“I don’t know the opposition, but he is well and goes into the race in good shape. It’s just the unknown a little bit.”
With New Zealand Trotting Cup Week fast approaching, Purdon is being kept busy with his harness team and has welcomed the addition of All Stars Racing’s thoroughbred arm to add some variety to his day.
“This time of the year is quite busy,” he said. “I have had four (thoroughbreds) in work and two of them are going out for a spell, so it will be a nice balance now. I will be able to look after these two well and focus on the standardbred side of things as well.
“It has all worked out really well, they have all been good to work with – I have enjoyed it.”
While enjoying training his thoroughbred team, Purdon’s competitive nature, which has seen him dominate one code of racing, has him striving to reach excellence once more in another. “Getting into it (thoroughbreds), I thought ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful to win a Group One thoroughbred race’, so that is the aim,” he said.