NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On the up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • One Roof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

Sign InSubscribe
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Racing

Horse racing: Mark Purdon’s dream comes true at Ellerslie

Michael Guerin
By Michael Guerin
NZ Herald·
6 Apr, 2025 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Buster Shaw winning at Ellerslie on Saturday. Photo / Kenton Wright

Buster Shaw winning at Ellerslie on Saturday. Photo / Kenton Wright

The allure of Ellerslie is summed up by the fact a maiden victory there was a dream come true for one of New Zealand’s greatest-ever horsemen.

Harness racing genius Mark Purdon picked the perfect place to trained by first thoroughbred winner when Buster Shaw won the opener on Saturday, looking a decent stayer in the making.

Purdon has achieved everything possible in Australasian harness racing and has dabbled in training gallopers for the last three years, his two thoroughbreds trained alongside Group 1 harness stars Chase A Dream and Oscar Bonavena at the Matamata thoroughbred track.

There is nothing new in harness trainers trying their hand with thoroughbreds but few ever train a winner at Ellerslie, not only the spiritual home of New Zealand racing but a place revered by many in the harness industry.

“To train a winner at Ellerslie is very special,” says Purdon.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“It is a track we all love and you never really expect to train a winner there.

“And he is quite a promising stayer with a future.”

Training thoroughbreds was an itch Purdon wanted to scratch and after a life devoted to harness racing, he is enjoying the new balance.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“I have been really lucky how many thoroughbred people have wanted to help,” he told the Herald.

“I couldn’t have got this far without the help of Glenn Old, he really opened the door for me when I moved to Matamata and I can’t thank him enough.

“I now have an assistant, Layla Hoeta, working with me and she is invaluable and I have had some great advice from trainers like Andrew Scott [Wexford Stables].

“He showed me some of the work programmes great trainers like Dave O’Sullivan and Mike Moroney would have used with their horses and it made me quite proud because I realised I wasn’t doing too much wrong.”

Purdon has just two gallopers in work (with two more spelling) as well as the two harness stars but says even with a small stable, the days are long because of the different schedules.

“You get up so early in the morning to do the gallopers and if you have trots the night before, it can make for a long day and not much sleep.

“But I am so glad I am doing it.”

NO ROMANCE

James McDonald has had to settle for a second straight nail-biting international defeat with Romantic Warrior.

The Kiwi jockey was beaten out in an incredibly tight photo finish in the Dubai Turf on Sunday morning (NZT) as Japanese galloper Soul Rush grabbed Romantic Warrior right on the line.

McDonald missed two days of the Sydney carnival to be in Dubai and it capped a “what could have been” autumn for Romantic Warrior and McDonald after he was also beaten in the last few strides of the Saudi Cup last month.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

McDonald will return to Sydney this week to partner Via Sistina in the A$5 million ($5.4m) Queen Elizabeth on the second day of The Championships.

MULLIN’S ULTIMATE MOMENT

Champion trainer Willie Mullins was left in tears after the greatest moment of his career yesterday – and it had very little to do with the horses.

Mullins trained the trifecta in the famous Grand National at Aintree in England but the reason for his raw emotion was that his son Patrick rode the winner, Nick Rockett.

“This is the summit for me, I don’t think it can get any better than this. It’s just huge. It’s like something out of a Disney film,” he said.

Nick Rockett won the National from last year’s winner I Am Maximus with fellow stablemate Grangeclare West in third.

The master Irish trainer has achieved so much both with jumpers and flat horses and is often matter-of-fact about his victories. But this was different. This was family.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“I don’t know if I gave him a cheer, I was just speechless,” he said.

“I just broke down completely. I did for about 20 minutes after. I just couldn’t help it, I just completely lost it.”

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Racing

Racing

Kiwi filly triumphs in ATC Derby as favourites fall short

05 Apr 05:00 PM
Racing

‘Very impressed’: Sacred Satono shines in Elsdon Park win

05 Apr 07:31 AM
Racing

On a roll: Trainer Marsh aims for international accolades

04 Apr 05:00 PM

Diabetes NZ & My Food Bag join forces to address one of NZ’s biggest health issues

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Racing

Kiwi filly triumphs in ATC Derby as favourites fall short

Kiwi filly triumphs in ATC Derby as favourites fall short

05 Apr 05:00 PM

Aeliana won the ATC Derby by five lengths at Randwick.

‘Very impressed’: Sacred Satono shines in Elsdon Park win

‘Very impressed’: Sacred Satono shines in Elsdon Park win

05 Apr 07:31 AM
On a roll: Trainer Marsh aims for international accolades

On a roll: Trainer Marsh aims for international accolades

04 Apr 05:00 PM
Racing: Arcee Phoenix carries Svanosio to blazing glory

Racing: Arcee Phoenix carries Svanosio to blazing glory

04 Apr 10:44 AM
The dog that changed Laura’s life
sponsored

The dog that changed Laura’s life

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP