Racing: Purdon seeks positive reaction

Former star pacer seeks to regain status by overcoming dislike for standing starts.

Auckland Reactor is going to try to repair his Achilles heal one more time.

The $3.6 million stallion, once touted as one of the potential greats of New Zealand racing, has dropped off the radar in the past two years.

During that time he has embarrassed himself in Australia and North America, undergone a throat operation, had a stalled stallion career and then disappointed at the Auckland Cup Carnival when expected to return to his best.

About the only silver lining to the cloud he finds himself under is that when he returns to the Addington trials tomorrow he will be under a lot less pressure to do anything remarkable.

But he will face a different - yet still familiar- pressure.

That of going away from a standing start.

Auckland Reactor's relationship with standing starts mirrors that of Australian rugby player Quade Cooper and the New Zealand rugby public but at least Cooper wins some of his battles.

All Auckland Reactor does when he races in stands is cost punters money and himself future broodmare clients.

After initially being a slow standing start learner, Auckland Reactor turned into a lunatic starting from the tapes as a 5-year-old.

Trainer Mark Purdon became so frustrated he declared Auckland Reactor would never be tried from a standing start again but a lack of New Zealand mobile racing opportunities has forced a change of mind.

"He basically doesn't have any mobile races here to contest until November," said Purdon.

"I want to nominate him for the New Zealand Cup but to do that he has to be able to step away from a standing start so I will give him the opportunity to do that.

"He can have a couple of standing start trials and if things go well I will give him a race from behind the tapes at the end of the month.

"If he handles all that then the New Zealand Cup is the target. If he doesn't then he will head to Sydney earlier and get ready for the Miracle Mile."

That could even mean a change of trainer, as Purdon will be heavily committed to his huge team in Canterbury until after the New Zealand Cup meeting and would not be able to spend much time in Sydney with Auckland Reactor.

While he is hopeful a more mature Auckland Reactor will do things right tomorrow, Purdon is not confident.

"It is impossible to say. I hope now he is older he is more sensible but I suppose we can only try and find out."

Standing start manners aside, Purdon is happy with Auckland Reactor's condition, with the fine-bodied pacer carrying more weight that usual.

"Because he is bigger he will take a couple of runs to trim down but I don't mind that."

Purdon's rekindled interest in standing starts is also because this season's New Zealand Cup looks weaker than usual and victory in the great race would go some way to returning Auckland Reactor to his idol status.

But the exceptionally talented pacer could just as easily make a mess of this spring and end up the forgotten horse of New Zealand harness racing.

Purdon's other superstar, I Can Doosit, is also looking big in condition and is a month away from the races. "He looks great and is definitely still maturing," he says of the Interdominion trotting champion.

Purdon suggests to Herald readers his team will start to sparkle in another month as he weeds out some of the weaker members and the cream rises to the top.

"I have a nice team for the good races and it's good to be back training at my own place so I'm looking forward to the next few months."

Purdon's new partner, leading Australian trainer Natalie Rasmussen, is expected to move to Canterbury to join him in training there in a few weeks.

STAND OUT
*Auckland Reactor returns to the track tomorrow.
*The one-time pacing hero competes in a standing start trial at Addington.
*If his manners are improved he could be set for the NZ Cup.
*Trainer Mark Purdon is back training in Canterbury with a strong spring stable.