 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1993
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
 |
| Pacific Flight & Barry Purdon relax |
Mark Purdon, well established now as one of New Zealand's most accomplished drivers, won the Group 1 Nevele R Stud New Zealand Oaks with the Purdon stable's second string.
The popular choice was the Roy and Barry Purdon-trained c7 pacer This Time Franco, but even under the steerage of Tony Herlihy her performance was not quite good enough to hold out her c4 stablemate, Pacific Flight. Herlihy, in fact, knew the game was up before the last turn. He had made his move with This Time Franco, a grand staying filly, with a lap to run, and was up second, on good terms with himself, getting past the 600 metres. "When I got to the 500 metres, I thought there is only one horse which could beat me from here," Herlihy said, referring to Pacific Flight. "I looked round, and saw Mark there, just waiting."
Pacific Flight settled at the back, and was last at the 2000 metres, though she was clearly impatient and anxious to get handier. This came later, when This Time Franco improved, and Vee Mee gave Pacific Flight a sweet ride forward. Purdon attacked before the corner and, given licence to show her tremendous sprinting ability, Pacific Flight quickly drew up to This Time Franco. But the favourite didn't go down without a fight, and when it looked as though Pacific Flight would go on to win by half a length, or even more, This Time Franco buckled down and kept the pressure on though Purdon didn't own up to any doubts himself. "I always felt I had Tony covered," he said.
This was Purdon's second win in the Oaks, his first being in 1988 with Julie Vance, a black Vance Hanover filly. He said Pacific Flight had always been "a natural. A a 2-year-old, when she won four races, she was always first out of the gate. She has got so much high speed, more than Julie Vance had. She is just keen and green," he said.
Pacific Flight is from Significant, an unraced daughter of Out To Win and the grand racemare Black Watch. Owned by Roy Purdon and Gordon Robertson, Significant did not race because of soreness as a 3-year-old, but she impressed Roy. "She was a lovely free-legged pacer," he recalled. As a broodmare, Significant has been a gem, leaving a top class pacer in The Unicorn and National Image; her youngest is a yearling sister to Pacific Flight.
Lento was a gallant third, making a sharp run forward passing the 1600 metres to get handy, and cover, and making solid headway again at the end. "She went to the line real good, but if anything we got out just a bit late," said driver Robert Cameron. Last turning in, the lightly-raced Belle Amie passed 11 from there to finish fourth, ahead of Arma Class, Vee Mee and Lauder Madam.
This was Mark's second major success at Addington this year. He won the John Brandon New Zealand Derby, also Group 1, with Mark Roy last month.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 12May93