Mach Shard back in NZ

New Zealand bred and owned pacer Mach Shard (Mach Three) is back in Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan’s Clevedon harness racing barn.

“He’s been back for about four weeks. We gave him a couple of weeks off when he got back so he’s just jogging at the moment and seems pretty happy,” Barry Purdon said.

He last raced at Menangle at the end of October when he finished seventh.

“He was racing up in Queensland, and we just thought we’d bring him back, thinking it might be a bit easier racing here. Particularly in the north.”

From eighty eight starts he’s won seventeen races. He’s placed twenty two times and banked $607,333.

“Luke (McCarthy) did a great job with him, and he paid his way for sure. He’s probably about a month away from going to the workouts because there’s nothing for him (races). The Auckland Cup Carnival is him main aim. We don’t want to go round for the sake of it and it’ll be up to him to see whether he wants to be there or not.”

The eight year old’s biggest win in Australia was the Group One Ainsworth FFA at Menangle while in New Zealand he won the 2017 Group One Young Guns Cardigan Bay Stakes at Alexandra Park.

Bred by Debbie and Mark Smith of Shard Farm Mach Shard won eight races in New Zealand and nine in Australia. His return will be a welcomed in the north where the number of higher ranked horses is small.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink