Chief Stipe

Why not point the finger back at MacKenzie and his Board (NZRB, RITA and TAB NZ)? The cuts are due to trying to mitigate the cost of the broadcasting/production contract they all signed up to. Now the costs have been shifted to the codes. At the end of the day no overall benefit to the industry and INCREASED costs overall.

Why would Jockey's listen to Pitty?

Thomarse you need to keep up. The tweet you tried to post was first posted weeks ago - October 20 to be exact.

Thomarse are you going to keep posting crap? A penetrometer reading wouldn't have told you that the inside was worn. Nor would that information have helped the punter. Especially if none of the Jockey's had bothered to walk the track nor think nor not follow the leader.

What are you privy to the Stewards vision that hasn't been posted yet? Rubbish anyway - it "veered in" at the 400m!!! That's a long way from the finish!

How hard was it to put the rail out 3m all round?

No you didn't. Click share copy link paste link.

If you are going to post Tweets at least learn how to do it properly.

So still cheaper than your top Galloping trainer who hasn't ridden a horse in decades.

Why go past Cullen?

How do you know they haven't? Are you suggesting Cullen hasn't learnt anything? Also Mark is going to continue to buy for the owners and the stable. My bet nothing changes except more time on there hands.

Rule Number(s): 869(3)(b)Following the running of Race 1, an Information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N Ydgren, against Open Driver, Mr J Cox, alleging that “you drove carelessly when permitting your drive to shift ground outwards when not clear of MISS CRAZED near the 350 metres which broke.” Mr Cox confirmed ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

All Stars’ training operation to end - today’s letter which shocked the harness industry By Barry Lichter • 16 November 2020 The bombshell announcement that Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen are to shut up their successful All Stars’ training operation and take a break of at least 12 months hit today. This is how they delivered the news to their owners this morning just days after training the trifecta in the New Zealand Trotting Cup, ending an eight season partnership that saw them win 889 races and $28.8 million in stakes in New Zealand. Dear owner, We are writing to inform you of our plans over the coming twelve months. There is no doubt that as a training partnership we have been consistently very successful over a number of years and have been fortunate to have trained and driven many wonderful horses including a number of champions who have delivered outstanding achievements. A significant contributor to our success has been the support and loyalty of our owners who have trusted us with their horses. However, the success that we have enjoyed also has taken many years of hard work and constant dedication to the task at hand which you are no doubt aware is very much often without any significant holidays or breaks as we chase success for the horses, our owners and our All Stars team. Between us we have amassed nearly 70 years working and training and driving in the industry without any breaks of any consequence. Accordingly, we both have made the decision to take a career break whilst we take time to rest and rejuvenate and to consider what the next path our career in harness racing will take. Our sabbatical will commence on 1st January 2021 and it is anticipated at this stage that we will take at least 12 months. This will mean that All Stars training operation will cease operating on that date. We are pleased to advise that Hayden and Amanda Cullen will take over our stables at Rolleston and the employment of the majority of the All Stars committed team members. They will have the full use of all the amenities and equipment including the treadmill and both resistance trainers, the three training tracks and all paddocks and the stable complex. They will be training and racing horses under their own name, Cullen Racing Stables. Hayden who is widely known to our owners has been actively involved working in harness racing for 20 years. He has previously been in a North Island based training partnership for 3 years prior to joining All Stars two and a half years ago. Cullen Racing Stables will continue the same high-quality training and care of your horses but will have a different daily training rate. This will be advised to you shortly and Hayden will be contacting you individually over the next two weeks to answer any questions and seek your continued support to train your horses. Both Hayden and Amanda will have our support with Mark in particular, being actively involved supporting Hayden in the programming, daily work lists etc. In addition, both Mark and Nat will be available to assist in the barn leading up to key race meetings and selected race days where required. Mark will also be undertaking a mentoring role to Hayden. It is planned that Mark will continue to select and purchase horses for owners who will be placing those horses with Cullen Racing to train and campaign. We would like to thank you for your support over the past many years and wish you every success going forward. We also hope that you will support Hayden and Amanda as they embark on their training career just the same as you have supported ourselves. If you have any questions or need clarification on any point please do not hesitate to contact either of us or Hayden. Kindest regards, Mark and Natalie Allstars Racing Stables Limited

OK I won't let on.

LOL you still think he is Wayne Higgs?

Horse racing: New Zealand's most successful stable All Stars Racing to be disbanded 16 Nov, 2020 12:25 PM4 minutes to read Driver Mark Purdon and trainer Natalie Rasmussen after winning the NZ Trotting Cup. Photosport NZ Herald By: Michael Guerin New Zealand's most successful ever horse racing stable is being disbanded in news that will stun the industry. All Stars Racing, the all-conquering harness racing stable of champion trainers Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen, will cease training from December 31. The pair remain together as a couple but has decided to take a year away from training horses and if and when they choose to return it will be on a much smaller scale than the huge operation they run at Rolleston on the outskirts of Christchurch. Their state of the art property will remain open but be run by current stable foreman Hayden Cullen and his wife Amanda, with Purdon and Rasmussen happy to help out around the times of the major carnivals if needed. But the days of the All Stars machine which has dominated harness racing on both sides of the Tasman and is clearly one of the best in the world, are over. "It is time for a break," Purdon told the Herald. "Between us Nat and I have been training or working with horses almost 70 years combined," says Purdon who is 56. Rasmussen is 43. "We want to have a break, freshen up and take time to enjoy life next year. "And during that break we will take time to consider what our future looks like." Purdon says he will retain his race driving licence so he can still drive at major race meetings but Rasmussen is still considering whether she will. "Hayden is a good young trainer and we have made a commitment to him that at least initially we will drive the horses at major carnivals if needed. "We have told him we are happy to come help out leading in to these carnivals but the stables are going to be his with his wife Amanda's and the business will be theirs, definitely not ours. "All Stars Racing will be closed down from December 31 and if we even come back to training full time I would say it would be a on a lot smaller scale. "But that is something we will think about during our year off." Purdon will take a team of elite horses to Australia for a small campaign in late summer to target major races there out of respect for their owners and the fact Cullen will be busy setting up his new business. Purdon and Rasmussen dominated the New Zealand Cup carnival at Addington last week, winning the New Zealand Cup for the sixth time the last seven years as well as three other group one races. Their domination is like nothing ever seen in New Zealand racing before with the stable having broken every record there is in the harness industry. Purdon is bred to be a champion trainer, like his father Roy and brother Barry but since he went out on his own training in 1995 he has trained the winners of a staggering $58million in New Zealand alone while he has won most of Australia's richest races multiple times. Rasmussen joined him as life and training partner in 2013 and the All Stars operation went up a level, with the Australian trainer having a relentless work ethic and organisational skills as well as being a wonderful big race driver. Their army of superstar pacers is too long to list but is headlined by Lazarus and in the last 12 months they have trained the winner of the New Zealand and Auckland Cups as well as the Inter Dominion Pacing and Trotting Finals. Winning normal group ones like Oaks and Derby races are so common they barely register. Purdon and Rasmussen told their staff of their decision to step away from the industry full time this morning and were pleased many of their owners not only support their move but say they will support Cullen in his new business from the All Stars property. But the change to the landscape of New Zealand harness racing will be enormous. The stable dominate betting markets and race days and well as the yearling sales. For many of their rivals their leaving will create opportunity and even renewed optimism about their chances to win at the highest level. And new faces winning the biggest race won't do New Zealand harness racing any harm. Will Purdon, and even Rasmussen, eventually return to fulltime training? Probably. But will the juggernaut that is All Stars Racing ever re-start and conquer all in its path? Almost certainly not. So today's news is not just the end of an era, but the end of one of the greatest chapters in New Zealand racing history.

I find them less irritating than Gai Waterhouse and Rogie's "this is the best horse I've had and is going places" everytime one of his horses wins has worn thin long ago!

Isn't there still a Winnie provided tax break on such colts? I might add that you seem to get a better deal with TA than with Fortuna!

You added fuel to fire and the admit you knew about the family situation. I let others draw their own opinions on that. Again that comment just highlights your arrogance!

Used to work that horse! Dunhill, Double Smooth and Crafty Admiral all in the same stable. Actually Crafty Admiral changed my mind about being three wide. I forget where it was but it sat three wide outside the leader for the entire journey and still won.

I remember Braedoon specifically because we raced against it. I remember doing the field assessments for my dad and it often figured. I'd have to say that the late 70's and 80's were probably the peak of harness racing. There were so many good horses around and the fields were as even as hell.

Yet you stir the pot by being a smart arse. Why didn't you nail the original poster when as you are now claiming you already knew? I didn't until I was PM'd.

The Ben Hope thread JJ. Apology anytime soon?