Auckland Inter Dominion: Purdon family rivalry rears its head in pacing, trotting finals

Mark Purdon and his older brother Barry train eight of the 12 Inter Dominion pacing final favourites between them, so it’s little wonder family rivalry is expected to reach fever pitch.

Brotherly love will go out the window at Auckland’s Alexandra Park on Saturday night.

Mark Purdon and his older brother Barry train eight of the 12 Inter Dominion pacing final favourites between them.

They also have a key player each in the trotting final.

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Long gone are the days when they trained in partnership with their legendary ­father Roy.

The mutual respect runs deep, but Barry says he’s spent most of his time this week “looking for chinks” in the stars trained by Mark and his partner Natalie Rasmussen.

“They have the horses to beat in both races, but I certainly haven’t given up,” Barry said on Thursday.

“My three ­pacers and the trotter I have in the ­finals, they’ve all come through the heats well.

“The trotter Marcoola had three economical runs in the heats, and we’ll go into Saturday with a bit of optimism.”

Power combination Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen appear to have a tight hold on the Inter Dominion finals.

Marcoola (gate eight) is TAB’s $7 third favourite.

Mark has the $1.75 favourite Winterfell (gate two).

“I’ll chat with (driver) Sheree (Tomlinson), but I’d like to see her roll forward (with Marcoola). He’s strong and he’s ready to be put right into the race,” Barry said.

“If we could somehow get in front of Winterfell, it could change the race.”

In the pacing final, Barry’s three runners are AG’s White Socks (gate seven, $11), Mach Shard (six, $126) and On The Cards (four, $151).

Mark’s five runners are headed by $1.40 favourite Ultimate Sniper (gate five), Cruz Bromac (11, $7.50) and Thefixer (13, $11).

“It’s going to be really hard to beat Ultimate Sniper. He’s just looked so dominant and he’s drawn well,” Barry said.

Trainer-driver Barry Purdon has his work cut out to topple his brother, Mark, on finals night.

“I’ve got three horses with good early speed, and we’ll be using that.

“I’d love AG’s White Socks to land in a good spot, ideally leading then trailing Ultimate Sniper, as I’m sure he’s my best hope. He’s a very, very good horse.”

While most have conceded the pacing final to Ultimate Sniper, Rasmussen — who takes the reins in the final — cautioned punters not to sell some of his stablemates short.

“I don’t see the race like that (a one-horse affair) at all. He’s the hardest to beat perhaps, but not unbeatable,” she said.

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Originally published as Auckland Inter Dominion: Purdon family rivalry rears its head in pacing, trotting finals