Mark Purdon keeps his word even after driver's Inter Dominion stuff-up
So he will resist any temptation to jump in the sulky behind Oscar Bonavena to try to put his campaign back on track at Albion Park in Brisbane this Saturday night.
Purdon and son Nathan
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NZ Herald
7 days ago
- NZ Herald
West Coast trying to join four-peat club in Grand National Steeplechase
The four-peaters are a rare breed. The most recent, obvious adored four-peater was Winx, who won four Cox Plates in a row. Mic drop. Yeats won the prestigious Ascot Gold Cup four times and in harness racing Blacks A Fake won the Inter Dominion four times, but not in a row. There have been five-peaters (now there is a term you really don't hear that often). The great Australian sprinter Manikato won the William Reid Stakes five straight years from 1979 to 1983. Then there is the king of the peats, Koral. The big southerner won the Homeby Steeplechase at Riccarton seven times and finished second another. They got so sick of etching his name on the trophy they simply named the race after him. Which brings us to the $200,000 Racecourse Hotel Grand National Steeplechase at Riccarton today. It is the 150th running of the iconic race, which could have so easily been lost had jumps racing been canned. But today's 5600m is a chance for West Coast to join Winx, Yeats and the Penrith Panthers in the four-peat club. West Coast is a magnificent horse. Big, raw-boned but with a certain nobility in the way he stands. What is notable is the way he has carried 73kg in almost every steeplechase he has contested in the past two years, including his second and third Grand Nationals. There is no doubt he is the most accomplished horse in today's Grand National but eventually something has to give. West Coast is now a 10-year-old and carries 7kg more than favourite Jesko, even though the latter has been our form steeplechaser this winter. West Coast may have carried that same daunting weight to win the last two years but there was no Jesko in those races. To rub salt in the wounds, Jesko has stolen West Coast's regular rider Shaun Fannin, who trains the former and so obviously rides him. West Coast will still be our great racing warrior and he will still do what he always does in the home straight today: continue to go forward. But will he join the four-peaters? That may depend on what toll the step up to 5600m takes on Jesko. He had too much speed and too little weight for Captains Run and West Coast in the Koral (yep, that one) last Saturday and if today's race was over the same 4250m trip Jesko would start $1.30 again. But whether his leg speed burns quite so brightly, after 5000m and with 600m more to go, might decide this race. Earlier in the day, West Coast's stablemate Berry The Cash tries for one of those aforementioned three-peats in the Grand National Hurdles. He faces the same weight issues as West Coast but his arch-rival Dictation has been scratched so history awaits him. Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald's Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world's biggest horse racing carnivals.
Otago Daily Times
31-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Butt determined to lead with Bet N Win
Bob Butt has a plan. The top Kiwi horseman is heading into his first Interdominion final drive with serious intent aboard young trotting star Bet N Win at Albion Park on Saturday night. Bet N Win has drawn gate 5 in the $A500,000 ($NZ548,000) final but will move into gate 4 if emergency Sir Fahrenheit does not get a run, while main danger Arcee Phoenix has the pole. "It's a good draw but not great with Arcee Phoenix drawn one," Butt said. "I have to have a crack for a lead and ask more of my horse at the start than I ever have before. "It could go a long way to deciding who wins the race. "All series, we've seen the huge advantage of being on the markers' pegs at Albion Park." While Bet N Win has run to the front from similar draws in both heats, Butt said he did not know just how far out the 5-year-old could be. "No, because I've basically let him run to the front rather than ask him every time he's led so far. I'm sure there's more speed there, but just how much is the question. "This is the time to find out. It's a $500,000 race and we've got a good draw. I have to give it a serious crack to try and lead." Butt said Bet N Win's professionalism gave him the confidence to be daring at the start. "He's a great racehorse, almost your perfect racehorse," he said. "A lot of horses you'd be worried about pushing them off the gate hard, but not him. "You can use him early and then he'll just spit the bit out and relax again. It's probably his greatest quality. "Even if I go hard this week and don't get across, he'll relax in the running line and be somewhere handy." Butt, who is back in New Zealand with his team and returns to Brisbane tomorrow, said it was a huge buzz just being part of his first Interdominion. "Absolutely, in so many ways," he said. "Obviously Bet N Win's preparation couldn't have gone better and he won both races comfortably. "But also just to be part of a series with so much history and one I grew up watching and dreaming of winning. "Lyell Creek's win [Moonee Valley in 2000] is the first one I really remember. How could you not love that?" The other New Zealand trotting finalist, Oscar Bonavena, has landed gate 12 after being ruled out of the draw following another gallop in his second-round heat. "It's a good thing. He seems to make his mistakes when he's off the front," co-trainer Nathan Purdon said. "We thrilled he managed to sneak into the final and we know he's good enough to be right in the finish if he gets it all right." — HRNZ By Adam Hamilton
Otago Daily Times
31-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Not even barrier 1 should stop champ
Not even the worst possible barrier draw should stop champion pacer Leap To Fame from winning a second Interdominion pacing title. Trainer-driver Grant Dixon initially shook his head in disbelief when Leap To Fame drew gate one in Saturday night's final at Albion Park after having barrier 8 [inside of the back row] in both qualifying heats. "Most horses would love the pole, but it's the one draw we didn't want," he said. That is because Leap To Fame has only average early gate speed and, if he is crossed at the start, traffic and luck in running becomes a potential issue in the $A1 million ($NZ1.1m) race. But Dixon's initial look at the rivals drawn on the front row, eased his frustration somewhat. "It's not a really fast front row. There's nothing explosive, who looks certain to get across us," he said. "I think we're a chance to hold up and lead. That's what I'll be trying to do anyway. "At least it's a real staying race [3157m] so if he is crossed, we've got plenty of time to find some clear air." Leap To Fame eased from $1.10 to $1.25 after drawing the pole. The 6-year-old has not been beaten at Albion Park since November 4, 2023. He has won 20 successive races at the track since. Just as he did in the 2023 Brisbane Interdominion, Leap To Fame is aiming for a clean sweep after winning all his qualifying heats. Leap To Fame missed last year's Sydney Interdominion through illness, which paved the way for Don Hugo to win. Don Hugo then upset Leap To Fame in the Miracle Mile on March 8, but Leap To Fame has beaten him in all three other clashes, including last Saturday night's heat when Don Hugo had torrid run and tired for seventh. Don Hugo has gate 6 and loads of early speed, but will trainer-driver Luke McCarthy dare to unleash him over an untried marathon distance? Leap To Fame is one of three finalists for Dixon. His wife Trista will drive Aroda (gate 13) and Jack Chapple will partner Tims A Trooper (gate eight). Queensland trainer Shannon Price said "ask me Thursday" who stable driver Adam Sanderson will partner out of Speak The Truth (gate 3) and Sure Thing Captain (12). Menangle trainers Kerry Ann and Robbie Morris also have two runners, Cya Art (gate 4) and old marvel Petes Said So, who will contest his fourth consecutive grand final at his 215th start. Victorian star Catch A Wave drew gate 7 and is a $21 shot. — HRNZ By Adam Hamilton
