WHO will drive the Mark Purdon trained runners during the Miracle Mile carnival? With an artillery including Have Faith In Me, Our Waikiki Beach and Fight For Glory the stable is set to be represented in a number of the big races later this month.
Last year Purdon left the race driving to Natalie Rasmussen on Inter Dominion Grand Final day at Menangle and she didn’t let the stable down winning the Ladyship Mile with Adore Me in Australasian record time and the NSW Oaks. Rasmussen returned to Sydney in April last year to drive Our Waikiki Beach in the APG 2 year old final and Smolda in the Len Smith Mile and won both of the group one events.
When asked on Sydney radio over the weekend who will drive the horses in Sydney during the Miracle Mile carnival, Rasmussen gave no clear indication on who would sit behind the Purdon runners.
“We don’t even know, two weeks in horse racing is a long time so we have to actually get there first,” Rasmussen said.
“We don’t worry about that too much – we’ll work it out when the time comes.”
Rasmussen’s record at Menangle is mind blowing. In only 44 drives on the 1400 metre circuit since it opened in 2008, Natalie has won 17 races and been placed on a further 15 occasions meaning she finishes in the top three 72.72% of the time she drives in a race on the track. In her last 18 drives at Menangle, Rasmussen has won ten races and run a further four placings.
What is more astounding is her group one record at Menangle. Rasmussen has driven in 16 group one races on the track for eight wins and six placings. The two horses that failed to place at the highest level when driven by Rasmussen at Menangle were Western Cam in the 2010 Len Smith Mile when fourth behind Smoken Up and Blacks A Fake after finishing seventh in the 2009 Miracle Mile.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
