Harness briefs 11th May 2018

Ex New Zealand star pacer Heaven Rocks is having his first North American start this weekend, when he lines up in an open pace at Harrah's Philadelphia in Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Heaven Rocks is now trained by Ross Croghan an Australian born reinsman who emigrated to the United States in 1976.  Croghan now ranks among the greats in US harness racing, winning several driving titles and training well over 1000 winners.

On Sunday Heaven Rocks has drawn gate 4 in a field of 8 runners for the $30,000 Open series.

The race will be run over the mobile mile and the big Rock N Roll Heaven gelding will be driven in his first American start by top reinsman David Miller.

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Harness racing trainer Mark Purdon is going to try his hand at training a thoroughbred in the near future.

"I have decided its "now or never' training a galloper and I bought one at the May sale at Karaka. He will do a month back at Brighthill Farm who offered him at the sale and then he will come south. Barry enjoyed training the thoroughbreds and I have wanted to have a go. If I don't do it now I probably won't and the timing seems right," he said on the All Stars website

 "Actually this colt wasn't my first choice but there is a story behind that. Roy and I were going to the sale but the car broke down in traffic and we ended up having to get it towed home so we didn't make it. My first choice from the catalogue was earlier on and went for a bit more than I wanted to pay. This one was passed in. I had liked the look of him and for $8000 he seemed a reasonable buy to me. Time will tell !

"Earlier Nat and I had an I Am Invincible youngster we bought at the sales in Australia but we didn't really have the time to do it and after it was broken in down here and proved a bit of a handful it ended up at Graeme's (Rogerson). I think it is best known for the day it got to the barrier and bolted over the fence before the race ! I hope this one will be different. I am looking forward to the challenge," he said.

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