Racing: No time for celebrations at top stable

That makes three for the day. Border Control heads off Bit Of A Legend in the final event at Ashburton on Saturday to give driver Mark Purdon the training honours. Photo / Race Images

Despite enjoying a treble on harness racing's big day, Purdon plans for future.

As the sun set on Jewels Day, Mark Purdon had two thoughts on his mind: time and timing.

Both of those give an insight into how Purdon was able to train three group one winners in a few hours and go within a half-head of making it four - and that was after being unlucky in another couple.

Even after a day that magic, Purdon wasn't thinking of personal glories.

He had just won the fastest mile ever paced in New Zealand, when Border Control nosed out a brave Bit Of A Legend in 1:50.6, 1.5 seconds faster than the New Zealand mile record starting the day and 0.9 of a second quicker than Christen Me two races earlier.

Purdon was happy for the horse and owners but just as much for the industry which has made him famous.

"It is great to be part of a race like that, to see then go 1:50 and change," he told the Herald.

"For too long our records haven't been in keeping with the class of the horses we breed but now we are catching up to where they should be.

"So that is exciting to be part of."

Considering you don't get paid extra for national records, Purdon's enthusiasm is admirably childlike.

And just one reason why he is our most dominant horse trainer of either code.

The money aside, he has a seemingly endless passion for finding good horses and training them to do great things. Winning is merely a byproduct of his personal quest for excellence.

So 30 minutes after smashing that national record he was in the Ashburton stabling area alone, packing up gear and planning his next move. Greatness doesn't take days off.

Already he is scheming his next assault on Australian riches, on cold winter nights when most of his rivals will be tucked up in bed.

And that is why not just record times, but timing, was on Purdon's mind.

This week he will sit down with a sheet of paper and plan the Australian campaigns for horses like Border Control, but he will almost certainly put a pen through the name Adore Me.

The freakish filly made it 11 wins from 12 starts, winning her division on Saturday in a jog, and now has the Queensland Oaks and Breeders Crown at her mercy.

But Purdon believes the time is right to put her aside, turning his back on two more near-certain group one wins.

"Sure, she would probably win those races if she went to Australia because she is something very, very special. But she has had a wonderful season and maybe it it time to give her a little reward."

If Adore Me goes to the paddock for a decent spell now she could be the best mare in Australasia by Christmas.

It would be easy to want the Breeders Crown and all of next season's riches as well. After all, few trainers turn their backs on group one races with a $1.10 chance.

But there are a lot of factors that go into being a champion horse trainer: hard work, an eye for talent, a love of the animal.

Plus, a sense of timing, because in racing, like any sport, the great ones always seem to have more time.

The day the stars shone

Best drive: Tony Herlihy on Sky Major. Simply magic.
Best training performance: Paul Nairn with One Over Da Moon. From nutcase to faultless in nine days.
Unluckiest: Bit Of A Legend never saw the markers in a 1:50.6 mile and was caught in last stride.