Favourite Spankem retired

Spankem, who is without doubt one of New Zealand’s harness racings favourites, has officially been retired.

He’s been a crowd favourite for seven seasons. But the owners of Spankem (Bettor’s Delight) have decided to call it a day after the horse split a cannon bone when running fourth in December’s Group One $100,000 Invercargill Cup.

“He’s had three screws put in the bone and it’s been a very slow process. He was boxed for six weeks. I used to take him for half an hour a day and let him have a pick of grass. He was allowed in a small paddock after that for six weeks but he was still brought in at night and on Monday he was allowed out into a big paddock,” said Diane Cournane whose been looking after the gelding on her Mabel Bush farm. “He’s been a great patient. You can easily see he’s been at Mark Purdon’s, he’s well-schooled.”

She says the injury is looking good.

“He’ll always have a bigger fetlock. He’s walking and trotting sound and ready to go to a good home.”

Spankem will be put on a float on Monday which will head up to Wingatui where he’ll be collected and taken north to Canterbury.

“He goes to Caroline Norton who does Mark’s agisting in Canterbury. He’ll be there for four months, then they’ll decide who he goes to. He’s a busy horse and just couldn’t be turned out and forgotten about. He needs someone to get on his back and do something with him.”

Spankem was trained throughout his six season career by Rolleston horseman Mark Purdon. He won twenty one races including seven Group Ones and he earned stakes of $1,902,079.

“He wasn’t a big attention type of horse. He used to pin his ears back when you came close to him as if to say ‘you’re entering my space.’ He was a no fuss horse who was lovely to work with although he could sometimes get keen on the track,” Purdon said.

Purdon remembers taking Spankem to Australia for the Victoria Derby. He won his heat, but he finished fourth in the final which was won by Colt Thirty One (Mach Three).

“He was a colt up until he was three. We took him to Melbourne and God, he was a handful. He changed when we travelled with him. After we got home we gelded him and he was a lovely horse from there on, and a lot kinder to himself too.”

Spankem’s win in the 2019 Miracle Mile was the horse’s biggest payday, and a special win for his trainer.

“It was my first Miracle Mile and I always remember that. It was special to me, a special race to win and that would be his most memorable win.” 

Spankem wasn’t a genuine two mile horse but he still ran second in two Auckland Cups (2020 and 2022). And in three runs in the New Zealand Cup he had two seconds (2019 and 2020) and he took out third place in the 2022 Cup.

“It wasn’t his pet distance. It just found him out in that last 150 metres.”

Spankem’s career wrap: 

Super proud owners:

• Owned by Phil and Glenis Kennard, Breckon Racing Syndicate, Jim and Ann Gibbs and Gary and Keri Woodham.

Lifetime achievement:

•  Spankem won twenty one races and banked $1,902,079 for the ownership group. That works out at $28,389 per start. He was placed (1st, 2nd or 3rd ) in fifty three of his sixty seven starts.

Group certified:

• He won seven Group Ones, five Group Twos and four Group Three races.
• Fifty two of his sixty seven starts were in Group or Listed races.

Big dollar days:

• His biggest Group One wins in New Zealand were in the Sires Stakes Final for Two Year Old Colts and Geldings, the Taylor Mile (twice), The New Zealand Messenger, and New Zealand FFA. Whilst in Australia he won two Group One races – The Canadian Club Sprint at Menangle and the 2019 Miracle Mile. 
• His biggest pay day of $550,000 was in the Miracle Mile.

Reined to win: 

• Mark Purdon (9), Natalie Rasmussen (9), Tim Williams (2) and Kylie Rasmussen (1)

Trained to win:

• Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen (20) Mark Purdon and Hayden Cullen (1)

Winning tracks: 

• Addington (6), Alexandra Park (4), Ballarat (2), Menangle (2) and Methven, Ashburton, Oamaru, Kaikoura, Melton, Cranbourne and Albion Park (1 each)

The Spankem Times-read all about it!!

• His last win was at Alexandra Park in April 2022 when he won the Taylor Mile as a seven year old pacing the mile in 1-52.2 which was his fastest winning mile time in New Zealand.
• His fastest mile time was recorded in the 2019 Miracle Mile at Menangle when he paced the distance in 1-47.7.

Top of the class:

• He was named New Zealand Pacer of the Year and Horse of the Year in the 2018-2019 season.

Big Cup seconds:

• Spankem raced in the New Zealand Trotting Cup three times finishing second in 2019 and 2020 and third in 2022. He ran second in two Auckland Cups (2020 and 2022).

He came ‘neck of a close’.

• Beaten by a neck in the 2019 New Zealand Trotting Club, won by Cruz Bromac (Falcon Seelster)
• Beaten by half a neck by Chase Auckland (Auckland Reactor) in the 2019 New Brighton Cup
• Beaten by a neck by Amazing Dream (Bettor’s Delight) in the 2020 Auckland Cup.
• Beaten by a neck by Poster Boy (Somebeachsomewhere) in the 2019 Four Year Old Bonanza at Melton.

What an era:

• Raced in an era with Self Assured (Bettor’s Delight), Copy That (American Ideal), Amazing Dream (Bettor’s Delight) and Chase Auckland (Auckland Reactor).

“Mark my words.”

“He raced at the best level and was just a great all round horse,” trainer Mark Purdon said when summarising Spankem’s career.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink