Two-year-olds big part of Purdon/Phelan season

The first part of the northern two year old harness racing season is coming to an end with the Group One Breckon Farms Young Guns Cardigan Bay Stakes on Friday night and the IRT Young Guns Two Year Old Trotters series concluding shortly.

As the Barry Purdon-Scott Phelan stable looks to concentrate more on juvenile racing, figures show two year old racing and Dean Shannon from Montana Park Pty Ltd are playing a big part in their operation.

“Dean’s a big part of our stable that’s for sure. We do our homework for the sales. Dean buys and the stable buys. So far it’s been a pretty good recipe really and long may it continue,” Scott Phelan said.

In 2022 the training combination trained 42 winners, 16 of which were two year olds with Montana Park Pty Ltd owning nine of them. The 2023 figures were similar with a 42/15/8 spilt while so far this season the Clevedon trainers have won 27 races. Five have been with two year olds and four have the Montana Park brand in the ownership.

“The days of looking for a Cup horse at the sales have gone. It’s hard to pick that sort of thing. It’s a lot on bloodlines now, type of horse and how athletic it is. I think horses turn into Cup horses.”

There are plenty of good stakes on offer and the HRNZ Two Year Old bonus is an added incentive for owners and breeders racing juveniles.

“For us it’s concentrating on the young ones and if they come through like Merlin has and being dominant, they end up putting themselves there (in Cup Class).”

Training good two year olds is nothing new for Purdon. Four juvenile pacers he’s trained have been awarded New Zealand Two Year Old of the Year – Comedy Lad 1982-1983)* Chokin (1990-1991), Montana Vance (1991-1992) and Matai Mackenzie (1999-2000).

Phelan enjoys the challenge of training young stock and gets a great buzz from it.

“100%. That’s what I look forward to. We get them from the Sales, they get broken in, then they come to us for a prep and it’s really cool to see how they progress. One day you may think ‘geez this thing isn’t much’ and then a few days later they’re flying along. But there are ups and downs (laughter). To see them at the races progressing and winning, that’s a real buzz for me.”

There are no problems in moving horses on.

“If they’re in the top three or four in their age group we keep them going but if they’ve had their chance we just move them on and go to the next one.”

Phelan is now into his eighth season of training with Purdon and the pair are fast approaching 300 winners and $6.5 million in stakes money.

“Barry’s great. He’s a legend in the sport and you don’t stop learning off him that’s for sure.”

*Comedy Lad won four races as a two year old for Southland trainer Des Baynes before winning a further two at that age for Roy and Barry Purdon.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink