Racing: Purdon's drive on beaten hotshot queried

A dark cloud hangs over Auckland Reactor - and more importantly Mark Purdon - after the drive that stopped two nations on Saturday night.

Kiwi trainer-driver Purdon incurred the wrath of Queensland harness racing stewards after getting lost during the middle stages of Auckland Reactor's shock defeat in his Interdominion heat on the Gold Coast.

Auckland Reactor got shuffled back from the perfect one-one sit to near last before storming home to finish second as a $1.10 favourite in the dramatic final Interdominion heat.

It was, quite simply, a bad drive from Purdon, who missed the boat when the back horses came three wide at the 1200m mark.

At that point he had the opportunity to press forward to either sit parked or try for the lead but chose not to.

Purdon said he thought Anthony Butt, driving Report For Duty, who was sitting parked directly in front of him at the 1200m, was going to continue forward to the press for the lead.

When he did not, Auckland Reactor got shuffled further back and then became trapped behind fellow Kiwi pacer Zenad when he came three wide but struggled at the bell.

Purdon didn't pull four wide until the 300m mark and he flew home to finish second to Karloo Mick.

That all but ensured Auckland Reactor will make the final on March 28 but Purdon's chances of driving him are now in jeopardy.

Stewards opened an inquiry into the drive but later adjourned it without laying any charge.

"We don't want to make any rash decisions tonight but will look into the drive more in the next few days," said chief steward Martin Knibbs.

"Either way we would like to have a decision on whether Mr Purdon will be charged by Wednesday or Thursday so any hearing, if one is needed, will be heard before the next round of heats."

The stewards said Purdon's concession that he erred in the drive would be taken into account and they acknowledged there was no suggestion of corruption or foul play in the drive.

While that might be enough for Purdon to get away with a stern warning for a similar drive in New Zealand, Australian stewards are not quite so forgiving.

While the stewards had their best poker faces on after the inquiry, the smart money would be on Purdon being charged this week and there is a chance he could be suspended before this Saturday's second round of heats.

If that happens, Tony Herlihy is the most likely replacement as a driver, as long as Auckland Reactor is not drawn in the same heat as the Herlihy-trained Gotta Go Cullen.

Purdon was naturally reluctant to comment yesterday, hoping not to inflame the situation but did tell the Herald that Auckland Reactor might have been affected by an undiagnosed mouth problem during the race.

The champion, beaten only once in 21 starts before Saturday night, tore the inside of his mouth on his lead rope when tied up in the stabling area before the race, a fact Purdon only became aware of yesterday.

"Knowing that now, it might have been why he raced with his mouth open out of the gate," said Purdon.

"That made him a lot harder to control early."

Purdon's drive aside, Auckland Reactor was still tremendous running second after his crash course in the rigours of Australian racing.

While he still looks the most talented horse in this series Auckland Reactor is discovering what so many great Kiwi pacers and their connections have found out during previous Interdominions.

Winning in New Zealand in the often more relaxed environs of big tracks racing is one thing, tackling Australia's best in the hustle and bustle of small-track racing requires a different skill set all together.

Ironically, learning that lesson in Saturday night's heat may be a vital step on the path to Auckland Reactor winning the final on Saturday week.

However, there is virtually nothing about the Gold Coast which reminds you of Hobart, Adelaide or Melbourne.

Unless Blacks A Fake is racing in an Interdominion. Because for the less than two minutes it took him to win his heat, Australia's greatest pacer looked every inch the same freak who won the past three Interdominions in those other three Australia cities over the past three years.

He may be an 8-year-old on the last searching mission of an incredible career, but old Blackie showed that he is still to pacer to beat in this series with his dogmatic win.

After a poor start to the season, Blacks A Fake has returned to his crushing best in the past fortnight and was merciless on Saturday night.

He overcame being yanked back from his tricky inside second-line draw to surge forward to sit parked and still win in a fastest-of-the-night 1:54.1 mile time.

The $3 million earner looked characteristically under pressure at the 400m mark before bulldozing to victory for the 47th time in 63 starts.

It was a powerful warning to pacing's young wannabees, Auckland Reactor included, that the old lion still has teeth.

So dominant was his performance that it, coupled with Auckland Reactor's shock defeat, had most bookies rating the pair equal favourites for the March 28 final.

Blacks A Fake rounded out a power-packed double for trainer-driver Natalie Rasmussen, who earlier led throughout to win the second heat with I Am Sam.

That gives Rasmussen a huge influence in the final, especially with I Am Sam showing unexpected gate speed to add to his usual toughness in downing Smoken Up.

New Zealand-trained pacer Mr Feelgood was a satisfactory third in that heat after coming wide for the last lap and looks certain to improve throughout the series.

But perhaps the best Kiwi performer on the night - Auckland Reactor's weird run aside - was Changeover.

The New Zealand Cup winner had a hard run to get parked but still only just went down to Diamond N Furs in the opening heat.

The run was good enough to promote New Zealand's most reviled horse to third favourite for the final.

Of the other Kiwis, Gotta Go Cullen gave himself a shot at making the final with a fourth, Report For Duty was luckless and will now struggle to make the final, while Zenad and Awesome Armbro are out of contention after finishing last in their heats.

INTER SHOCK

* Auckland Reactor was dramatically beaten in his heat of the Interdominions.
* Trainer-driver Mark Purdon could be charged over his drive this week.
* Purdon said Auckland Reactor might have been affected by a sore mouth suffered just before the race.
* The loss means Auckland Reactor now shares favouritism for the series with local hero Blacks A Fake.