Blair Orange

A $100,000 race the Delightful Lady Stakes. All Stars win. A $150,000 Young Gun Series. All Stars win. A $500,000 Great Northern Derby classic-All Stars win. Remembering the magnificent seven wins in a day on New year's Eve how can it keep getting better ? Well, one way was I CAN DOOSIT making it four for the night another sensational meeting in the north for the country's leading racing stable.

RUSSLEY RASCAL was mighty in the Derby. He settled, was sent to the front and gave everyone a shot at him, ran home in 57.1 and beat them by four lengths. It was Blair Orange's first win in the race, co-trainer Mark Purdon's fourth as a trainer and the first also for co-owner, Neil Pilcher, who was not able to be present because of ill health. He is also an owner of MAJOR MARK along with Phil and G lenys Kennard who shared in the ownership of FIERY FALCON which won the Derby two years ago.Neil was not feeling well enough to go to the meeting but he was certainly feeling good watching from home in Yaldhurst where his wife, Rose, has been hospitalised as well with a heart complaint.

"I am okay'' Neil said "But I just wasn't up to going up there on Thursday. I am coming right though and wins like that help you feel better pretty quickly''

Blair was typically low key after the race, one which tested his skills in tactical driving.He ackknowledged too the skills which turned Russley Rascal into a Derby winner.

"He is just such a great racehorse. He can do it easy and he can do it tough'' Blair said. A brief inquiry from the stewards about an earlier incident was soon dismissed but All Stars filly star SECRET POTION was wiped out in the home straight when looking a place chance.

All Stars have chalked up the Great Northern Derby, Great Northern Oaks and the filly and colt heats of the Young Gun Series have just been some of the highlights from the All Stars Auckland Cup carnival. And we thought llast year was sensational !

All Stars principal, Mark Purdon, invested time and money into finding the best buys available on both sides of the Tasman and is in the process of allotting shares in a number of the 15 horses he signed for in Melbourne, Auckland and Christchurch. One of the those available at reasonable money is the Courage Under Fire colt from Under the Mattress which Mark bought in Australia.He had not originally intended to get involved but so liked the colt that he went to $52,000 to ensure the colt would ship to New Zealand.

If you think that is quite a bit of money for a Courage you may be right. But not if you heard Mark talk about him. And not if you watched Secret Potion win the Great Northern Oaks on Friday night.

"He was not on our short list but we had not really gone into his credentials as we had some others. They asked me to look at him as the vendors thought he had something going for him. He really took my eye. Big strong colt and from a good old tough family. I decided to bid on him and was surprised by the competition. I have had a lot of luck with Courage Under Fire stock and I would not have brought this one home unless I thought he would really make the grade''

Shares in this colt are still available. Contact Mark direct at 0272780642 or macca@xtra.co.nz for further information. By the time the Auckland cup meeting is over he might look like the bargain he is !

Phil Kennard

ALL STARS posted its 36th win of the season last night. Not its 36th win of the season-its 36th win at Alexandra Park ! Could you believe it ? A Rolleston -based entity sets up a satellite stable at Pukekohe with an average of 12 horses based there- and is the leading stable in Auckland racing. If it keeps up like this All Stars will win the training trophy for the season-appropriately the Roy Purdon Cup.

The horse which brought that about was MAJOR MARK Mark Purdon's ace tip to site readers for the week. It was a brilliant drive, Mark adapting to the earth fire tactics of the Ken Barron runners to ease back after Major Mark was not entirely happy early. But a nice trail followed by an aggressive "push'' from Mark with 1000m to run meant Major Mark gave everything a chance to beat him. The win would have been a special one for All Stars.

Last season Mark and Grant found out too late about the Young Guns series to set a horse for it. But this season was a different scene and Major Mark, owned by several stable stalwarts, was the vehicle. Phil and Glenys Kennard and Neil Pilcher were among those to join the battle as was Bill Grice. Last night's win in the $150.000 Young Guns Final following his unbeaten run in two heats, is a further example of the All Stars magic in readying horses for big races.

"He concentrated better tonight which reflected what I thought he had done during the week. '' Mark said of the Art Major colt.

Two stars - Mark Purdon and PM John Key

*MARK ASSESSES THE WEEKEND RACING TEAM

*IS HE THE ONE ?

*ALL STARS POSTS 83RD WINNER FOR SEASON-11 AHEAD ON PREMIERSHIP

*600th WIN FOR BLAIR ORANGE AT ADDINGTON

*ANOTHER BIG WEEKEND FOR ALL STARS-ADDINGTON AND INVERCARGILL

*NICOLE AND ALL STARS HAVE ANOTHER TRIUMPH AT AUCKLAND FRIDAY

*MARK PREVIEWS THE BIG NIGHT AT ALEXANDRA PARK !NEWS PAGE

*TATES AND LANCASTERS-FAMILIAR ELLESMERE ENTTHUSIASTS WIN STAKES AT ADDINGTON\

*67/1 !- ALL STARS DIVIDEND RECORD AT WYNDHAM.

*JAMES SALUTES THE JUDGE -AND THE CROWD

*HIGHVIEW TOMMY OUT OF INTERDOMS-FOR AUCKLAND CUP

*THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN !!!!!!!!-READ ALL ABOUT IT-NEWS PAGE

+ALL STARS SET NEW STANDARDS AT ALEXANDRA PARK !!!!-NEWS PAGE

*BREATH OF LIFE MAKES MARK FIRST TO REACH 1000 RACE DOUBLE

*2000 WINS ? "I'M NOT CHASING IT'' MARK'S REACTION TO TRIUMPH

CHECK OUR NEWS PAGE-OR OUR ARCHIVE PAGES FOR OLDER STORIES.

Auckland Reactor. We will remember "Mac" and Jeremy Clark

At 3am on Friday morning, AUCKLAND REACTOR walked out of his stall at All Star Stables for the last time, boarding a float bound for Auckland and on to the United States. With him will be JEREMY YOUNG who has been with the Mach Three stallion for a good while now and took him to the Brisbane Interdominions last year. The supestar, the best horse Mark Purdon has trained, leaves behind an imposing record, not only in races won, but in the sensational times he achieved winning them. Even the hardened stablehands at All Stars, who have seen a lot of good horses come and go admit it is just not going to be the same around the place for quite a while.

"He is such a good horse to do anything with'' co trainer Grant Payne said. "You get used to having a stable star like that, an exciting horse that everyone is talking about. Sometimes horses like that can be a bit of a trial and the pressure can be high. Nothing seemed to bother Mac and he was great to have around as well as to watch race.''

Auckland Reactor crosses the Cook Strait Friday morning, overnights at Bulls, and then heads to Auckland on Saturday. He is due to fly out to his new home in New Jersey on Monday.

If it is a new experience for the track star it is just as much for Clark.

"I don't know what to expect in some ways and am pretty confident about things in others.'' Clark said pointing to the small huddle of gear, including hopples, he will take with him.

"I'll have to take a bit of gear for myself too I guess. it will be pretty cool up there '' he said as Trackside staff filmed some final footage of one of the greatest pacers to have raced in New Zealand.

"We will be based on a farm in New Jersey. There are quite a few Aussies training there. I am just hoping he can show them how good he is''

Auckland Reactor leaves in the pink of condition after a spell at Chevalier Farm. Those who thought the New Zealand Free For All was an anti-climax can only hope they will be cheering a 1:47 or better mile at the Meadowlands later this year. He is certainly capable of it.

So long "Mac" the gentleman champion. May the force be with you.

Grant Payne

All Stars Stable at Rolleston can use one word to sum up its aims in all its racing and ownership fields. That word is excellence. New Zealand's leading harness stable has facilities for the horses equal to anything you would find in the southern hemisphere and superior to many you would find in the northern hemisphere. Those facilities-a barn which any horse would rate as five star accommodation, a number of training tracks including a straight line track unique to New Zealand harness racing and every appointment necessary to allow a horse to develop its full potential-would not be of a great deal of use without the people working with them having the skill and the will to be just the best.

MARK PURDON is a household name in harness racing, a man who has had stunning success since taking up public training in the Auckland area in the mid 1990's and achieving something extremely rare in New Zealand racing-shifting to the heartland of New Zealand harness racing, Canterbury, and rising to the top against fierce competition from long established stables. Mark's ability to select the right types from the sale ring and nurse young horses through juvenile triumphs to match the best of older horses as they age is a distinguishing feature of his career. He has also driven 1000 winners but stable success comes before personal egos. So in BLAIR ORANGE he has a stable driver of high calibre easily able to step into the master's seat when-as so often happens-All Stars has multiple entries in major races.

GRANT PAYNE, Mark's training partner, is the unsung hero of All Stars. A quiet achiever with a lifetime of horsemanship behind him, he ensures the nuts and bolts of the stable routine work like a well oiled machine. A fine horseman in his own right, his skills are an ideal foil for Mark Purdon who can always be rest assured in his absence that All Stars it ticking over like clockwork.

Grant's wife, JAN, and her sister, Mark's wife, VICKI, also play a major role in the smooth running of All Stars both with hands on help in the stable and in Vicki's case handling the running of a multi-million dollar business.

All this points to the EXCELLENCE All Stars aims for. Excellence among their track performers, excellence liasing with owners and stable supporters, excellence in presentation and excellence in delivering what owners want -raceday success-while feeling part of the All Stars team. You are always free to join us on our winning crusade. We will make you more than welcome and you will know we will deliver only the best in service and performance.

Anyone with a good worth ethic, who likes to have a feeling of working closely with a team, enjoys all aspects of horse work, wants to work in ideal surroundings and can feel the glamour of being associated with one of the great stables in New Zealand harness history is always welcome at All Stars. We have a hard core of loyal supporters who enjoy working with one another but often there is the chance of a vacancy which could appeal to you whether you want to make your way in horse racing itself and want to learn from the masters or whether you would like a change and can be confident of top class working conditions, good wages, plenty of fun and a settled routine in one of the best organised stables in New Zealand.

Feel tempted ? You never know your luck. Try 0274780642 and talk about it with Mark Purdon. There's nobody better to explain it all to you or to prove that this is a workplace where you know you will be happy.