By Adam Hamilton
Nathan Purdon’s glamour pair Oscar Bonavena and Don’t Stop Dreaming have settled in well after arriving in Melbourne to take on Australasia’s best on Hunter Cup night at Melton.
Brooke Wilkins accompanied the pair on the trip across and Mark Purdon will fly in to take the drives on Saturday night.
Nathan Purdon’s confidence varies greatly with the pair.
“Don’t Stop Dreaming is not the easiest horse to train or get right for big races because he’s got his issues with his feet and joints,” he said.
“I also think the NZ Cup run behind Swayzee took a lot out of him and he hasn’t quite been the same since. He gave it everything he had that day.
“The signs have been better in recent weeks and that’s why we’ve sent him across, but the draw hasn’t been kind and it’s a bit of a wait-and-see for mine to see exactly where he’s at.
“He showed last year what he can do at his best, but he’s got to prove he’s back at that level.”
Don’t Stop Dreaming will also need plenty of luck from an outside front row draw (gate seven) in the Hunter Cup at 10.43pm. He will move into six if emergency Hector doesn’t gain a start.
“He’s now reliant on a lot of speed and being able to get the right sort of trip. He’ll need a lot to go right now, but if it does, he’s a top three chance in what looks a very strong race,” Purdon said.
In contrast to his weariness with Don’t Stop Dreaming, Nathan Purdon is bullish about Oscar Bonavena’s chances in the Great Southern Star, a race he contested once but that was five years ago.
“He’s just a marvel,” he said. “Like Don’t Stop Dreaming, he’s had a lot of issues and has been difficult to train, but for some reason, he’s just been fantastic for the past 12 months.
“I don’t think he’s ever been sounder or felt better than he has right now. We’re going there expecting big things from him.”
The retirement of Just Believe and absence through injury of Callmethebreeze leaves Oscar Bonavena as the real established star of the Great Southern Star.
But the nine-year-old faces a challenge from barrier five in the first and strongest of the two heats at 8.30pm, especially with main danger and recent Inter Dominion winner The Locomotive drawn the pole.
“We’d love to win the heat, but on paper it’s not going to be easy and we’ve come to win the final,” Purdon said.
“He’s got a stack of gate speed if Dad wants to use it, but I suspect with The Locomotive drawn where he is, he may not want to cut him loose in the heat.
“He’s just got so much speed, I’m sure he’ll qualify for the final and then we can hope the draws go our way.
“Regardless, he’s just in such a great place at the moment, he’s going to be hard to beat.”
Purdon confirmed Don’t Stop Dreaming would stay in Melbourne for Saturday week’s $100,000 Group 2 Cranbourne Cup before a final decision was made on a possible trip to Sydney for the Miracle Mile.
“We just want to see how he gets through this couple of Melbourne runs before locking in Sydney,” he said.