Tag
Duke of Bourbon (Face Time Bourbon) cost $240,000 and although he had one win under his belt has cost punters a bit of money to prior to winning tonight’s Addington feature. But on a big track, racing left handed for the first time and having to endure a false start, the colt gave some back […]
Harrison Orange looks forward to sharing the big harness racing stage with champion Leap To Fame in the Go Media New Zealand Cup in November. “It’ll be cool to be in a race with him,” he said. Better Knuckle Up’s (Bettor’s Delight) win last night at Alexandra Park means Orange will experience two firsts – […]
While some of her higher profile opposition went to war, Fly High (Bettor’s Wish) in the cool hands of Harrison Orange sat back, watched the race upfold and came with the last run to dab Ride The Wave and Ripples in last night’s harness racing heat of the Nevele R Fillies Series at Alexandra Park. […]
Class could prevail but we can expect Merlin, Better Knuckle Up, Meant To Be and Higher Power to improve after they race at Alexandra Park on Friday night. That’s the word from Scott Phelan who trains in partnership with Barry Purdon. The barn has two runners, Higher Power (Father Patrick) and Meant To Be (Father […]
Top Northern reinsman Zachary Butcher is expecting to be back driving at the trials tomorrow and at Alexandra Park on Friday. “I’m getting it all sorted. I had the Careway Programme ring me today and they’re happy with progress. I see the doctor tomorrow to get his clearance and (will) drive at the trials tomorrow […]
In the Lincoln Farms Here For The Horse Mobile Pace at Cambridge tonight, northern junior driver Crystal Hackett achieved her 200th win driving the Andrew and Lyn Neal trained Merie Mary (Bettor’s Delight). MERIE MARY REPLAY Crystal told me earlier this week, “I was sitting on 198 for three weeks and I finally got up […]
There’s no better way to advertise your breeding brand than having winners on the racetrack and the Southern Bred Southern Reared brand had them in spades last night. The southern group who breed and sell as a collective, last night recorded three winners at Alexandra Park and four at Addington. And there’s the promise of […]
The training partnership of Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan are no strangers to preparing top-class racehorses, and if pedigree is anything to go by, debutant War Party could be their next star in the making. The colt steps out for the first time in tonight’s Beta Vet Echinacea+RRM Mobile Pace at Cambridge Raceway (7.10pm), carrying […]
Two year olds take the spotlight tomorrow night at Alexandra Park in Auckland with heats of the Breckon Farms Young Guns for two year old colts and geldings and the Gallagher Insurance Young Guns for two year old fillies being run. Clevedon trainers Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan have hands to play in both races. […]
Hillbilly Blues (What The Hill) rise to stardom continued with a narrow win over his stablemate Belle Neige in the $40,000 G3 Cambridge Trotters Flying Stakes at Cambridge tonight. Driver Tony Herihy took the five year old to the top early, before handing up to Oscar Bonavena. Halfway down the straight Belle Neige who had […]
Confederate (Bettor’s Delight) has been sold and will race in America. He was purchased as a yearling for $240,000 at the NZB Standardbred Sales and was raced for a group of owners that included Katrina Purdon, Dean Shannon and his breeders John and Katrina Price. Trained by Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan, over two seasons […]
Seth Hill drove his first Group winner on Friday when Cath (Sweet Lou) trained by his father Brendon, won the $50,000 ‘Betavet’ Millwood Nike Fillies Classic at Addington. Hill is in only his third season of driving and has now won forty seven races – thirty five of them this season. Last Friday from barrier […]
Merlin (Art Major) returned to his winning ways in the 100th running of the Kaikoura Cup today. The five year old entire hadn’t had a win since Show Day last year when he won the NZ FFA. Not that it worried his trainers Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan who were building with the long game […]
Katrina Purdon has been lucky enough to own some nice horsepower over nearly four decades. And her winning run is not over yet. Katrina grew up in Cambridge and got her first pony when she was four. “It was a big pony so you had to stay on because it was too far to fall […]
Duchess Maria (Father Patrick) stamped her dominance in the two year old trotting ranks with win number four on the trot, at Addington last night. In the inaugural running of the $50,000 Group Three The Sundon, driver Nathan Williamson pushed forward early to take up the running. He then handed up to Landman before Kyvalley […]
Clevedon trainers Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan are on the verge of launching some of their stable stars with some lofty targets in mind. Talented pacer Cold Chisel (Always B Miki) is nearing a return to the racetrack after injury halted his three year old campaign last year. He last raced in October in the […]
Zachary Butcher thinks Meant To Be (Father Patrick) could be the trotter he’s been waiting for. “You’d have to say he’s the best trotter I’ve driven. He’s a horse that’s going to take you places in that gait. I’ve always dreamed of driving a good one like that and they’re hard to find. He could […]
Trainers Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan have maintained there’s not a lot between their two three year old trotters Meant To Be (Father Patrick) and Higher Power (Father Patrick) and the winning margin of a nose in tonight’s $100,000 Group One Breckon Farms Northern Trotting Derby confirmed their opinion. It was Meant To Be in […]
This time last year saw the biggest upset in the history of the Taylor Mile, when aged harness racing pacer Mach Shard (Mach Three) won the Group One Taylor Mile against all odds. He ran the trip in 1-53.9, paying $155.20 and beating the likes of Don’t Stop Dreaming and Merlin. And to prove it […]
There are some quality horses returning to race at Alexandra Park tomorrow night or a feature night of harness racing. Meant To Be, (Father Patrick) Sooner The Bettor (Bettor’s Delight) and Merlin (Art Major) are the headline acts for the harness racing training partnership of Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan. Chanel Noire (Captain Crunch) showed […]
Training legend Barry Purdon is hoping this weekend goes better than last and he has two of his stable stars with harness racing opportunities to put a smile back on his face. The Hall of Famer had to watch his best horse Merlin miss making tomorrow’s Miracle Mile after a horror show of a prelude […]
Learning curves don’t come much steeper than the one Greased Lightnin (Vincent) finds himself on at Alexandra Park tonight. But harness racing co-trainer Scott Phelan says he wouldn’t be surprised if the three-year-old keeps on winning and reveals himself as a Derby contender. Greased Lightnin contests the opener, the appropriately named Purdon and Phelan – […]
The best harness racing stable of the year is set to dominate the code’s newest glamour race night. Tonight’s Alexandra Park meeting sees the first running of the Golden Gait finals, 10 races worth $100,000 each to reward those horses who have graced The Park often enough to be eligible. While it is not the […]
She might be called Duchess, but New Zealand harness racing has tonight anointed a new queen of the pacing ranks with a stunning performance from Duchess Megxit (Sweet Lou) in the G1 $100,000 Queen Of Hearts at Alexandra Park. The Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan-trained three-year-old filly was a surprise inclusion in the nominations earlier […]
