Purdon pair favoured in tonight’s two Cambridge features

[Wandering Eyes]

By Brigette Solomon 

Mark Purdon makes a return to race day driving with stable stars Oscar Bonavena and Don’t Stop Dreaming at Cambridge’s Flying Stakes night tonight.

The Matamata-based Purdon hasn’t driven Oscar Bonavena since they ran third in the Renwick Farms Dominion Trot at Addington in November behind Just Believe and the last time he drove Don’t Stop Dreaming in this country was the 2023 New Zealand Derby won by Merlin.

Oscar Bonavena was a winner of the Group 3 IRT Cambridge Flying Stakes back in 2020 when it was raced over 1609 metres. This year the race is over 2200 metres (7.49pm), and Oscar Bonavena (8) starts from the outside of the barrier and opens as a very short, fixed price favourite ($1.20) in the eight horse field.

The country’s leading driver Blair Orange has driven him in his last four starts and the nine-year-old entire heads into the race off the back of a third placing in the Group 1 National Trot at Alexandra Park on New Year’s Eve. While the National Trot winner Muscle Mountain was brilliant in winning the event by five lengths, Oscar Bonavena put in an impressive effort, going some way in redeeming himself after breaking in the score up and losing a considerable amount of ground, to hold on and finish third after facing the breeze three wide over the final 700 metres.

“Blair (Orange) has said he was just a little keen behind the mobile before he galloped, and he still went on to run a great race,” says Purdon, “he seems very bright and has taken no ill harm from the tough run and has just been trained quietly since.”

Since the beginning of his campaign in October, Oscar Bonavena has raced consistently well and prior to his third on New Year’s Eve had won three successive races, including a victory over Just Believe in the New Zealand Trotting Free For All on Show Day. The entire has also commenced stud duties this season, something which Purdon believes may have been beneficial to him on the track.

“He’s still currently being collected from to serve mares and has actually had a busy week,” says Purdon, “he’s just such a professional to work with though, he’s great to work with and knows his job when he’s on the track and I think possibly that serving as a stallion might have made him a little better.”

In the feature pace of the evening, Mark and Canterbury-based training partner, son Nathan line up Don’t Stop Dreaming (5) in the TAB Cambridge Pacers Flying Stakes Mobile Pace (8.14pm). He’s currently a $2.10 favourite with Republican Party at $2.40. 

“There’s only six runners in the race but it’s a nice field and I don’t think it will be easy,” says Purdon, “Kango (3) was very good in his last start and may be hard to run down if he leads, and of course there’s Invercargill and Auckland Cup winner Republican Party who will be tough to beat.”

After finishing second in the New Zealand Cup behind Swayzee, Don’t Stop Dreaming was seventh in his most recent race, the Auckland Cup on New Year’s Eve.

He was buried five back on the fence, unable to obtain clear running until entering the home straight before running on well. 

“He’s not an overly big horse and I’ve been kind to him since his Auckland Cup run, he’s been working together with Oscar and is bright and well,” says Mark Purdon, “it’s hard to say where he’ll end up in running but I’ll roll forward early and have a look at what happens with the runners inside us and go from there but he’ll need to be good tonight to be a chance.”

Racing action gets underway tonight at 5.44pm and with the meeting also including the Waikato Summer Trotting and Pacing Cups. 

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