Top three-year-old pacer to miss feature races

Last season’s leading harness racing juvenile Don’t Stop Dreaming (Bettor’s Delight) is out of the first two major three-year-old races of the year.

Nathan Purdon, who has just entered a training partnership with his father Mark, confirmed the last-start Ace Of Spades winner will miss both the Harness Million and Northern Derby at Alexandra Park later in the summer.

“There is nothing majorly wrong with him just a few little niggles from immaturity,” says Purdon.

“So he is having a longer spell and won’t be back in the stable until February 1.

“Then he will stay down here and his first major aim with be the Sires’ Stakes in May.”

Purdon announced the news on SENZ’s Trots Talk segment on Sunday morning and TAB bookmakers soon after removed him from the market for the Harness Million with Merlin now the $2.70 TAB favourite for that race. Merlin is also the $3.50 favourite for the Northern Derby on March 24.

Merlin is the only horse to have beaten Don’t Stop Dreaming, having downed him in the two-year-old Harness Million on October 14.

While Don’t Stop Dreaming will be missing from the Harness Million meeting at Alexandra Park on February 17, the Purdon stable will still have Sherlock and Sinbad coming north for the meeting.

Also joining them will be unbeaten three-year-old filly Millwood Nike, who is a couple of weeks away from trialing.

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand