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Three year old filly Bettor Twist won her fifth Group One harness racing event tonight when taking out the $115,344 Gr1 Nevele R Fillies Series Final in the hands of driver Natalie Rasmussen.
Bettor Twist made light work of her second row draw, eventually working around to the lead with a lap to go and proving too strong in the run to the judge winning impressively in a 1-55.0 mile rate for the 1980m mobile event.
The Robert Dunn trained Off N Gone was a brave second 2 1/2 lengths away with a further 6 lengths back to Bettor Talk Art in third.
Credit : Harnesslink Media 14 May 2021


Credit: Harnesslink

Akuta produced a Group One victory equally as powerful as his stablemate’s when running away from his fellow two-year-olds in the Garrard’s Sires Stakes Series Final.
Fresh off his brilliant win in last week’s Harness Million Final, the pacer produced an even more impressive victory when overcoming drawing on the outside of the second row.
“He was really good last week and he had to be really good again tonight,” Cullen said.
“Nat could have let him go at the 400m, but she held him up a bit and she said he pretty much jogged it.”
Cosmic Major chased hard behind Akuta to provide Cullen with a stable quinella in a repeat of the pair’s one-two finish in last week’s Harness Million.
Credit : NZ Harness News, 22 May 2021, Jonny Turner


Credit: NZ Harness News

The queen had to earn her crown and Bettor Twist did it with style when taking out the Group One New Zealand Oaks at Addington on Friday night.
Doing midrace work and sitting parked in the second-fastest ever running on the 2600m classic were of little worry to the champion Hayden Cullen trained filly as she powered to the line to again confirm her star status.
The victory was aided by a pinpoint Natalie Rasmussen drive on a night she and Cullen dominated the Addington card with dual Group One victories.
Rasmussen’s fellow leading reinswoman Samantha Ottley set up an enthralling affair and made Bettor Twist work for her second Oaks crown with positive early tactics behind her archrival La Rosa.
Sent forward early, Ottley parked the favourite early and set a strong clip in front to give her charge her shot at taking down Bettor Twist.
And while La Rosa was brilliant in second her effort wasn’t enough to hold out her star rival who thrived in her second attempt over on Oaks distance.
“La Rosa really made a race of it and our filly had to be good tonight,” Cullen said.
“And she showed how good she is.”
“She has always gone well over the shorter distances but I thought 2600m would suit her right down to the ground.”
“She really stuck to her guns the whole way and we got the job done.”
Credit : NZ Harness News, 22 May 2021, Jonny Turner


Credit: NZ Harness News

Covid stopped him being there but it couldn’t stop Ray Green from delivering the training performance of a lifetime as Copy That staved off his rivals to win the IRT New Zealand Cup at Addington on Tuesday.
Green watched on from his living room as the horse he selected to buy before he was even a year old powered to a front-running victory in New Zealand’s greatest race four years on.

With Green stuck in Auckland and owners, Meg and Merv Butterworth forced to watch on from Australia all New Zealand Cup responsibility was left to driver Blair Orange.

When Orange took Copy That to the lead his 76-year-old trainer knew from his lifelong involvement in harness racing that his horse was nearly unbeatable from that point.

But it didn’t mean he wasn’t in for one of the most stressful four minute periods of his life.
“He was never going to get beat once he strolled two easy halves (800m), I thought they were never going to beat him.”

“Self Assured is a very good horse but we have beaten him in the past in the same scenario and I think our horse is a lot stronger this year.”

“So, you see him in front and you think they can’t beat him, but then you think maybe they can.”
“It was stressful, you don’t realise how stressed out you were until it's over.”

“It was very emotional once he crossed the line.”



Orange delivered a front-running performance fitting of his status as New Zealand’s premier reinsman by expertly controlling the New Zealand Cup tempo.

After his brilliant effort to guide Copy That to his commanding win, the reinsman was typically humble, suggesting he was lucky to land the drive on such a brilliant horse.

“It is a very special moment, it is the pinnacle of our racing year and it is hard enough to get a drive in it let alone a leading chance,” Orange said.

Copy That’s victory offered redemption for his camp after the pacer was a victim of a controversial start to last year’s event which severely affected his winning chances.
The pacer’s win also completed an epic journey which started when Green and wife Debbie bought the horse home from a weanling sale for $7500, which has looked like a bargain price for some time.

Green admitted he and his wife have had their ups and downs with the pacer since, but it was all made worthwhile when Copy That wrote himself into the greatest chapter of New Zealand harness racing’s history.

“It wasn’t all beer and skittles, it took a while for him to materialise.”

“But I always knew he had a bit of speed, so you persevere and this is the end result.”

“I have had a lot of the drivers be very good with him in his progress, they’ve looked after him when he was doing things wrong and I appreciate all of them.”

The Greens sold Copy That to the Butterworths as a three-year-old, which allowed the Australian owners to live a second New Zealand Cup dream following their victory with Arden Rooney in 2015.

“Debbie never wanted to sell him, but you have got to be realistic, we are not rich people and when you are offered a lot of money you have to sell,” Green said.
“We have still got him to train, so it has been a win-win, the owners that bought him have been great.”
“They are very loyal owners.”

“I am just extremely grateful for this horse, there are a lot of people involved.”

“From the vets to the staff, to (Lincoln Farms owner) John street, there are so many people.”

Though robbed of the chance to see his career and life defining win in the flesh, there was one advantage from Green being able to watch the New Zealand Cup from home alongside his wife and his staff.

Celebrations started before Orange and his team on the ground got the hopples off Copy That.

“There is a party going on here, there is champagne sprayed everywhere,

“It is almost like one of those formula one podium jobs.”
Copy That scored in a 3.58.8 winning time by a two and a half lengths over defending champion Self Assured, with South Coast Arden third.


Credit: Johnny Turner

A stunning display of speed and stamina from Franco Indie delivered the perfect result for Spreydon Lodge in the Group 1 Sires Stakes Final on New Zealand Cup Day.

The Mark Purdon and Hayden Cullen trained pacer shrugged off sitting parked throughout the first age-restricted Group One of the harness racing season as he and his stablemate Franco Mac left their rivals chasing their dust.

The victory not only continued an incredible day out for the Purdon-Cullen stable, it produced a perfect result for breeders Spreydon Lodge and its own stablemate, Nevele R Stud.



Franco Indie and Franco Mac have never been far from each other throughout their lives having been bred and raised at Spreydon Lodge, before both being sold as yearlings and going to at the All Stars stable.
Their journey to a one-two finish in a Group One feature on New Zealand Cup Day was something Spreydon Lodge and Nevele R Stud general manager Ged Moar almost couldn’t believe.

“It is a huge thrill, I can’t believe it, it doesn’t happen very often that they were both in the same yearling sale, we bred them and the mares and it is just a great thrill to get a Group One quinella on a very special day.”

Franco Indie’s journey towards Group One glory under the incredible guidance of the All Stars stable started with Mooar asking Mark Purdon to find him some stock of Nevele
Stud’s exciting stallion Always B Miki to race, with a view to giving the sire’s career a kickalong.
The result could not have been better for Nevele R Stud and Alabar, who stand Always B Miki and race Franco Indie together.

Franco Indie is the stallion’s first Group One winner in New Zealand and third in Australasia.

“We asked Mark and Natalie to go to the sales and buy a couple of colts by Always B Miki.”

“This fellow just happened to be in Spreydon Lodge’s draft.”

“That was great, so Nevele R retained a share in him, Alabar took a share in him and the rest is shared among a lot of people, including a lot of people from the Chase Auckland syndicate.”

“It is great to share this victory with a lot of people.”
Purdon carried the same Alabar silks to victory in his win in the Sires Stakes Final with Chase Auckland in 2017.

Franco’s Indie’s win continued an incredible domination of the Group One feature by Mark Purdon.

Purdon has trained the last eight winners of the race in Have Faith In Me, Lazarus, Ultimate Machete, Chase Auckland, Ultimate Sniper, One Change, It’s All About Faith and now Franco Indie.

This year’s win came in partnership with Hayden Cullen with the prior seven in partnership with Natalie Rasmussen.

Spreydon Lodge has a proud history of its own in the Sires Stakes Final.

Franco Indie joins fellow Francos, Franco Enforce (1996), Franco Heir (2000) and Franco Nelson as winners of the feature.


Credit: Johnny Turner

Mark Purdon had a New Zealand Cup day to remember at Addington Raceway on Tuesday with six wins, but the one that stood out above the rest was Oscar Bonavena’s victory in the Group 1 Livamol NZ Trotting Free-For-All (1980m).

The Canterbury horseman, who trains the entire in partnership with Hayden Cullen, reined home the five-year-old to win his maiden Group One victory for Purdon’s father, legendary trainer Roy Purdon, and American-based expat Kiwi trainer Chris Ryder.

“It will be very special for him (Roy),” Mark Purdon said. “He is 94 now, but he still looks forward to the races and it will give him a great thrill to watch it.”
Drawn the outside of the front row, Purdon eased his charge to sit off a hot pace set by Majestic Man, who burnt early for the lead.

Purdon navigated his charge into the one-one behind Midnight Dash before driver Jim Curtin extricated Bolt For Brilliance off the fence to sit parked outside Majestic Man.

Turning for home Purdon guided Oscar Bonavena four-wide where he was able to show a blistering turn of foot to run down the leaders to win by 1-1/4 lengths over Bolt For Brilliance, with a further three-quarters of a length back to Majestic Man in third.

A talented youngster, Oscar Bonavena was purchased out of Phil Williamson’s barn after his runner-up effort in the Group 2 Sires’ Stakes 2YO Trot (1950m) but has faced a number of setbacks, which made Tuesday’s win even sweeter for Purdon.

“He has had a lot of issues along the way and it is hard to get them back to this level too,” Purdon said.
“I am very proud of him today. They went hard early which helped and he finished over the top of them.”
Co-trainer Hayden Cullen was also jubilant after the win given Oscar Bonavena’s past issues.

“He really deserved it, he has had a few niggles along the way,” Cullen said.

“He had a bone chip taken out and he had a cyst in a knee, just a few niggles there that held up his career a wee bit. He seems good at the moment so hopefully he will carry on.”

It was Oscar Bonavena’s third run this preparation and Cullen said he needed those first two hit-outs to have him hard-fit for Tuesday’s assignment.

“He has had a couple of runs under his belt this time in and he showed his true form today,” Cullen said.
“Mark and I have been very pleased with him. At that grade you need a few runs under your belt to be hardened to those better horses. He was third-up today and he went very well.”

Tuesday will be Cullen’s last Cup Day as official training partner with Purdon before he reverts back to his former stable foreman role, and he said it was great to notch his first Group One victory on Cup Day.
“It is a great thrill,” he said. “It is the day you want to win races on.”


Credit: Joshua Smith

Just like harness racing fans across Australasia, the team behind Sundees Son were left utterly speechless when the star trotter produced one of the greatest trotting performances in New Zealand’s history to win the Group One Dominion at Addington on Show Day.

The Robert and Jenna Dunn trained six-year-old didn’t just break his own national and race record set in his brilliant win in the 3200m feature last year, he absolutely smashed it, setting a new mark few thought was possible.

Perfectly handled by driver John Dunn, Sundees Son crossed the line in the jaw-dropping time of 3.56.6 – a massive 4.9sec faster than his 4.00.5 win in the race last year.

And even more incredibly, his time was 2.2sec faster than what Copy That’s clocked when winning the New Zealand Cup over the same trip on Tuesday.



Emotions flowed from owner-breeders Colin and Nancy Hair, as well as from the training team behind the star squaregaiter including Robert and Jenna Dunn and her father Craig Edmonds.

Understandably, it was a combination of jubilation from witnessing a stunning victory and a sense of disbelief after their trotting star had produced one of the most remarkable performances in 110 editions of the Dominion.
“It was unbelievable,” Jenna Dunn said.

“Sunny is a special horse and with him anything is possible, but it is still unbelievable that he won like that.”

As unique as his stunning victory was, so is the way the team behind Sundees Son come together to make him a success.

The Hairs have pulled off a breeding miracle with their Sundon mare Stardon, while Jenna and her father Craig Edmonds and John Dunn and his father Robert all contribute to the fine-tuning of a superstar trotter and his career.

“I am just so lucky to be a part of it, Dad does a lot of work with the horse and Johnny does too, it is a real team effort.”

Colin and Nancy Hair were understandably speechless after watching their trotting star rewrite history.
It could take several days for the gravity of what they witnessed on Friday to sink in.
“I still don’t believe what just happened,” Colin Hair said.

“It is just incredible, I think it will take some time to sink in.”

Sundees Son’s performance and winning time surely rates him in the top tier of trotters around the world.
With little to prove in New Zealand, taking on those global superstars seems an inevitable option.

“With Covid we have never really considered going anywhere, the Interdominions were never an option,” Hair said.

“I have always said that unless Craig can go with him and John can drive him and he can race in Robert’s colours he won’t be going anywhere.”

“But now he has won a lot of the big races here twice, we will have to consider going somewhere.”

The Dunn team produced another brilliant training performance in the Dominion with Mataderos just a length behind his stablemate in second.

The trotter also smashed the 3200m national record as he continued his rise from battling Aussie bush trotter to Group One star in just his 13th start in New Zealand.
The Dunn stable also produced Chief Of Staff for the race of his lifetime, finishing fourth behind third placegetter, Bolt For Brilliance.


Credit: Johnny Turner

Top harness racing mare Wainui Creek provided a boilover last night at Addington Raceway when she won the $100,000 PGG Wrightson Standardbred Breeders Stakes paying $18.00 on the tote.

The win gave North Island driver Scott Phelan an emotional Group One success.



It was a well driven race by North Island driver Phelan. He led early and then capitilised on a great run in the trail behind Bettor's Heart and driver John Dunn who was determined to park Princess Tiffany,the hot favourite for the race.

That made it for the Barry Purdon trained Wainui Creek and the Bettor's Delight mare finished best up the passing lane to get a deserved win by a head at the liine.

Wainui Creek paced the 2600m mobile in 3-12.9 a mile rate of 1-59.3 with the closing 800m in 57.2 seconds.

Credit: Harnesslink Media, 15 Feb 2020

Gavin Smith has made the tough call to pull the plug on the career of Great Things Happen, his first and only Group 1 winner to date.

The big eight-year-old gelding by Love You has battled a myriad of issues arising from poor conformation and bad gait throughout his career, racing only 45 times over six seasons for his 16 wins and $234,000 in stakes for Smith and breeder Ted Edwards.

“His feet are actually the best they’ve ever been at the moment and physically there’s not a lot wrong with him,” said Smith.

“He worked 3.15 home in 27 the other day and normally you’d be pretty happy with that, but he’s just not the horse that he was.

“He’s only running at probably 85% and you can’t be at that when competing against the big boys.

“His main problem has been his gait and hitting his near side hind shin, but it’s just been one thing after another in recent years and I think things have built up and got the better of him mentally.

“He deserves better and as he won’t tolerate retirement very well, we’ll find a trekking home for him, and then there will always be a paddock here for him.”

Smith recalls seeing Great Things Happen when he was offered at the Premier Sale by Edwards and passed in.



“I could see he had bad conformation then and I thought he would hit himself, so he wasn’t one that I was going to buy.

“But Ted offered to do a deal on him and as he was well enough bred, so I agreed to take him.

“For a start he was big and weak and just hopeless and at one point I threw in a paddock and had pretty much finished with him.

“But I never got around to making the call to Ted to tell him he’d been sacked.

“There were sentimental reasons that went with him as my first child (daughter Hayley) had been born the morning of the sales or the day a horse called Great Things Happen came through the gate.

“And then each time I brought him back in, he got better and better as he got older and stronger.

“He would hit himself but he wouldn’t break, so you knew he had a big heart and a big motor.”

Great Things Happen made rapid progress when he did begin racing and at one point won five races in a row as a late four-year-old.

As he’d made open class after just 16 races, Smith then sent him to Greg Sugars in Victoria to “harden up” in lesser company and Great Things Happen won four of his seven races there, including a Warragul Cup.

Back home in the spring of 2017, Great Things Happen won the Ashburton Flying Mile in 1.55.4 over a top field and then he bolted away with the NZ Trotting FFA on Cup day in a 1.56.9 mile rate.

That was a national record for 1950m which still stands and it is faster than Tough Monarch’s 1980m record set at the last Cup meeting.

At this point, Great Things Happen seemed to have the world at his feet and he went into the Dominion as a hot favourite.
But he was an abject failure that day and it has been a real battle since for Smith.

Great Things Happen was going good again in the early part of last season and after skipping the FFA, he was again one of the favourites for the Dominion, but again he performed poorly due to a virus that had swept through Smith’s stable.

“He’s always been a lot of hard work, but the Dominion proved a bogey race for him being at the wrong time of the year.

“When things dry off he gets allergies from the dust.

“We got him back a year ago to win twice at Addington, but then he broke a splint bone, and this season has been a real struggle.

“We’ve been managing a succession of little issues for 2-3 years now and it’s got to a point where everybody concerned has said enough is enough.”


Credit: Harnesslink Media, 2 March 2020 : by Frank Marrion courtesy of the HarnessXpress

It’s All About Faith took a crucial step forward when nabbing a game B D Joe in a thrilling finish to the Sires Stakes Final on New Zealand Cup Day.



The towering three-year-old continued trainers Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen’s domination of the 1980m Group 1 feature by nailing his northern rival on the passing lane inside the last 50m.

Though he has been clearly established as a star of his age group since first hitting the track, It’s All About Faith has been a constant work in progress for his master trainers.

The colt’s tendency to over-race has seen him having owners Dennis and Mark Dunford having to settle with Group 1 second placings and another runner-up finish in the recent Harness Million final.

It’s All About Faith rewarded his camp for their fine tuning and patience courtesy of some quick thinking from Purdon after B D Joe blasted out of the gate to cross to the lead.

Rather than do the expected – zip around to the front with his $2.40 favourite – the champion reinsman took a gamble and slotted into the trail.
“I could have pushed the issue for another 100m, but I thought it could have been our undoing too,” Purdon said.

“At the Cup Trials I let him come to me, I am trying to teach him to take a trail.”

“And today he settled and just drifted a length or a length and a half off the leader’s back.”

It’s All About Faith not only bagged a deserved group 1 victory, he gave Purdon confidence he could again have the measure of his key rivals B D Joe, Krug (fourth) and American Dealer (sixth) when stepping up to the 2600m and 2700m of this year’s derbies.

“Today I was just so pleased with him because he has worried me going over distance – whether he can do it.”
“But the way he was today I wouldn’t be worried at all.”
It’s All About Faith showed he still has a trick or two up his sleeve when putting his head on his side as he clinched his group 1 win.

The victory was the sixth consecutive win in the race for the All Stars stable following on from One Change, Ultimate Sniper, Chase Auckland, Ultimate Machete, Lazarus and Have Faith In Me.

B D Joe was brave in second for trainers Steve and Amanda Telfer and driver Benjamin Butcher.
The runner-up just succumbing to the winner in the last few strides of the race.

“We were thrilled,” Steve Telfer said.
“We were pleased he was able to take advantage of his good draw and he fought all of the way up the straight.”
B D Joe’s fighting effort came in just his sixth start, suggesting he has as much upside as any horse going forward from today’s group 1 feature.

The Telfer barn plan to look after the pacer as best they can to help him snare a group 1.

“That is what we are hoping – but they have still got to step up and do it,” Telfer said.

“He has been on a very steep curve so far and he has handled everything that we have thrown at him.”
“So long as we look after him and place him right he should continue to develop.”

B D Joe held second by over a tenacious Aladdin, who sat parked for the entirety of the Sires Stakes Final.

Credit : Johnny Turner, Harnesslink, 10 Nov 2020


Credit: Harnesslink