| FEATURE RACE COMMENT |
YEAR: 1996
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| Owners Bill Kitcher & Geoff Hutchison with The Court Owl |
Mark Purdon won the $125,000 Smokefree New Zealand Derby, but not with the horse most expected. After Sharp And Telford had dominated the first two legs of the Triple Crown series, there was some doubt whether stablemate The Court Owl could pick himself up sufficiently to make a race of it in the Derby. Purdon was one who held that opinion. "I thought he was below his best on the first two nights," said Purdon. "And I said to Bill (part-owner Bill Kircher) that he may be feeling the effects of his racing," he said.
However, there was no evidence of any dullness on the track, as The Court Owl stole the show after an enterprising drive by Purdon, notably at the 1400 metres when he swooped forward during a slow patch of the race to take the lead off Sharp And Telford. "He is a good stayer and I like to drive him like one," said Purdon. "He felt keen once I got him to the front," he said. Sharp And Telford, who might have been feeling the effects of a kick on the off side knee delivered by The Court Owl during the week, did not take the final turn with complete comfort, and by then Purdon had made the most of it and skipped well clear. "I knew if I waited at the corner, he would gobble me up," said Purdon. As it turned out, Sharp And Telford cut the deficit down attractively, but never with any hope of swapping second for first.
Mon Poppy Day, the West Autralian colt, made ground late for third, ahead of Captain Rufus and Bionic Fella, who outclassed the others. Mon Poppy Day, who failed to settle during his stay, will meet The Court Owl next in the New South Wales Derby, where trainer Rod Chambers expects him to be more competitive. As Purdon is likely to stay in Auckland and drive at the Premier meeting there, Darren Hancock will be the likely driver of The Court Owl at Harold Park. Captain Rufus is another likely to head to Australia, with the Queensland Derby as his mission. Ken Tarrant's Carterton colt performed with great credit considering his travelling arrangements did not assist his preparation.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in the NZHR Weekly
YEAR: 2004
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| Mark Purdon & some of the Syndicate members |
Australia might have an Inter-Dominion 'King' in the form of Brian Hancock, but we've got one of our own too. His name is Mark Purdon, and the race he's become synonomous with is the New Zealand Derby. Purdon won the star-studded 3-year-old event for a staggering seventh time when he and Likmesiah flashed home to nab Winforu on the post last Friday night.
Purdon's Derby dominance began in 1993 when he partnered Mark Roy, and has been followed by Il Vicolo (1995), The Court Owl (1996), Bogan Fella (1997), Young Rufus (2001) and Jack Cade (2002),not to mention the 'furore' over Hunka Hickling when he was beaten a head by a wayward Stars And Stripes in the year 2000.
This year the task ahead looked almost insurmountable, firstly because Likmesiah with saddlecloth 15 had one of the worst draws compared to the guns he was up against. And the picture wasn't any rosier turning for home, because Winforu was about to slip down into the pasing lane having enjoyed a dream sit behind the leader, and Likmesiah was just getting balanced around faltering runners as he prepared to charge for the line.
But as he so often does, Purdon proved that at no time - especially in the big races - can you underestimate those blue silks with the silver stars. "I thought that his draw could turn out to be not too bad a one, because there was always going to be a lot of speed early," Purdon said. "It just depended on how the race panned out, and whether we were going to have to cover too much extra ground. Turning for home I was wondering how wide we were going to have to come, because Colin (De Filippi, driving Roman Gladiator) was going nowhere."
A furlong from home Likmesiah exploded out of the pack, and it quickly became clear that Winforu was going to have a fight on his hands. Purdon timed his pacer's run with the sort of precision that would make your heart sink if you were connected to Winforu, and after some anxious moments it was confirmed that Likmesiah had indeed got to the line first. "He just knows how to sprint like that, because that's the way we teach them at home," Purdon added.
The $100,000 Lion Foundation sponsored Group 1 event was yet another triumph for Likmesiah's sire Christian Cullen. He was responsible for four of the 14 entrants, all being from his first crop, and they included hot favourite Roman Gladiator (10th), V For (8th) and the desperately unlucky C C Mee (7th). Christian Cullen's principal owner Ian Dobson was one of he first to congratulate the Met Two Syndicate members. "I was thrilled for them," Dodson said. "Especially that syndicate though, because I've become fairly involved with some of the members with having a couple of my own horses out at Mark's. I didn't think Likmesiah could do it turning for home, but I think he even surprises Mark because he seems to grow another leg on racenight. The Cullens have got that will to win, all the trainers are saying that to me."
Fifty people will tell you there's no more fun than racing a horse as part of a syndicate. Better if the horse can win, and huge smiles when it's a race like the New Zealand Derby. Most syndicates are made up of people who can't quite afford to race a horse on their own. Or, even if they can, prefer the friendship and fellowship it provides. These are the sort of people who made a lump sum payment of $1,620 and put in $100 a month to join the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club organised, Met Two Syndicate two years ago. They bought three horses. One of them was Likmesiah, who won $60,800 with his trademark late burst to win the New Zealand Derby. His total earnings are $205,517 - a handsome profit from the $15,000 he cost on Mark Purdon's bid as a yearling.
Credit: John Robinson writing in NZHR Weekly