Purdon Racing made it wins at three different venues at the weekend when Oscar Bonavena settled a long standing score in Australia in the Group 1 Trotters Cup at Cranbourne on Saturday night-just before Don’t Stop Dreaming beat all but super horse Leap to Fame in the Cranbourne Pacing Cup after doing a lot more work than the champ in the running.
Now both the Purdon Racing team, under the care of Brooke in Australia, will head to Sydney for the Miracle Mile carnival.
“Originally we were contemplating a hit and run mission on Sydney but it makes more sense to stay over and especially now they are both going so well” Nathan said.
Oscar outclassed his opposition in the hands of Anthony Butt,looping the field superbly in the last lap and winning easily in close to track record time.
It is five years since Oscar make his Australian debut running fifth in the Dullard Cup in 2020 and then fourth in the Great Southern Star to Tornado Valley the next month. The winner was driven by Kate Gath who handled Don’t Stop Dreaming in the Cranboune Cup. Oscar Bonavena has proven something of a revelation in the past 2 years, developing his full potential at what is quite an advanced age for the current trotting era.
Don’t Stop Dreaming will be out to finally nail a big one on is Sydney campaign. He was second in the Allied Sprint and the Hunter Cup last year, in the latter also to Leap To Fame,winning teh Hondo Grattan and the Ainsworth Free For All as a leading to the Chariots and Miracle Mile. While he failed to match his Hunter Cup run of a year previous this season he suffered from a killer gate and ran on well late in the piece.
His Cranbourne run was outstanding. Taken back early he launched behind Tact McLeod before giving that runner cover for the last lap. Outside Leap to Fame ws never an easy assignment but Kate Gath had put him where he likes to be on the pace and he fought gamely to the line,showing again he can match the best Australia has to offer.