Duke gets his Group One

High priced well bred trotting colt Duke Of Bourbon (Face Time Bourbon) is beginning to pay back his buyers big time.

Bred by Yabby Dam Farms he’s out of Dance Craze the winner of twenty four races – a Muscle Hill daughter of the great trotting mare La Coocaracha.

Owned by Katrina Purdon, Peter and Joan Stott, Sheila and Richard Cole, Todd Anderson and Nick James, trainers Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan paid $240,000 for the colt at the 2025 NZB Standardbred Yearling Sale in Auckland.

Driven by Zachary Butcher from the unruly in today’s $100,000 Group One IRT Sires’ Stakes Two Year Old Trotters Championship, the giant young squaregaiter got back early but was too good at the finish outstaying Eyes Wide Open to win by a neck with Mr Mercedes two and a quarter lengths back in third.

“That was a great effort today. We followed through from the second line and you never know how it’s going to work out. We got left out three wide. I thought I was on the right horses back (Eyes Wide Open) but he ended up sneaking into the running line which really rocked me a wee bit . I went forward to parked hoping the front was going to be there and it wasn’t there. Look, he’d had to do it the tough way to be the best horse in the race and he certainly was,” Butcher said.

DUKE OF BOURBON REPLAY

In his first prep Duke Of Bourbon was handled by his co-trainer Scott Phelan before Butcher took over the reins.

“I’d just got back from holiday and I hadn’t soaked my hands in Palmolive enough. With those young trotters especially early days it takes a couple of drives to get used to them. I’ve got the hang of him now. A credit to the team, they’ve had him spot on for his last three runs and he’s been so diverse in all three of them. He’s got the whole package and I think the older he gets – the gait will be a whole lot smoother in six months which is very exciting and we’ve still got the hood to pull.” 

The win was Duke Of Bourbon’s fourth in just eight starts and the winning stake took his earning to $138,890.

For complete race results, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink