Goat

In spite of your obnoxious persona, and overblown opinions of your own talents, legal and otherwise, I've always had a certain amount of respect for you in your "battles with the system" ... until now.
To come out all guns blazing in support of a convicted criminal (nothing "alleged" about it), without a skerrick of concern for his victim, or his apparent lack of remorse, is appalling to say the least.
A "decent human being" would be actively supporting his victim, and condemning his crimes until such time as he proves his worth to society again.

ALL STARS are awesome. Thoroughly professional and with Mark and Natalie at the helm you can be sure their plethora of star horses will be ready to lay down the gauntlet to any pretenders who happen along. They are both such good drivers and with Mark's eye for a horse he continues to buy the best performers year after year.
Rumours are generally baseless and are started by those who cannot compete with the excellence that is the best Harness Stable in Australasia. 
Until there are any breaches or positive tests this talk needs to stop! 
All Stars website is informative and very helpful. I thank them for communicating their stable news to the wider public. They don't have to do this but they do. It would be a sad day if this service were stopped because of haters.
They are the absolute pinnacle of this sport and should be admired not vilified.
 
ALL STARS FAN

Brodie this would be your dream come true!!! But if you seriously think the All Stars win ALL there races because they are all on drugs you are the one on the drugs.They have the best horses mate and the best trainer that helps a bit
They have a lot of staff and if they've kept it secret this long they are truly freaks!!!!

Brodie this would be your dream come true!!! But if you seriously think the All Stars win ALL there races because they are all on drugs you are the one on the drugs.They have the best horses mate and the best trainer that helps a bit
They have a lot of staff and if they've kept it secret this long they are truly freaks!!!!

A poll conducted on Twitter - oh well then it must be gospel.
A poll conducted by other trainers will have Allstars domination as 99% of the trouble.
Relax and enjoy the outstanding achievements that Mark, Nats and the team are producing. We won't see this again for a long long time.
I guess Lazarus winning all those Derbies, cups and Group !'s must really piss you off too. 
Funny you never comment on Monbet winning all the big trotting races.
Did Mark P do something to rub you up the wrong way in your earlier life?

Brodie 
its a quick fix. Spend some good money at the yearling sales. Ask your trainer to work harder than he usually does and expect excellence from everyone from staff to drivers , Farrier's etc ,Why should we criticise  a trainer  for being better than the rest , I'm sure some years the All stars dont buy everything they want but make do with what they get . We expect the All Blacks to win everything and grizzle when they don't , Brodie I imagine you've never been in business so will not understand what's it's like In the real world -hard work and results means you have succeeded , if I had a horse and wanted to win a group race there's only one stable I would send it to and until the rest lift their game why wouldn't you ?? 

This must be very disappointing for you Brodie
The rumour mill in harness racing with regards to the All Stars Stable, Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen has being at an all time high recently with accusations of pending drug charges leading the way.  
The extra-ordinary success that they are having with the All Stars Team has bought out numbers of haters, low-lifers and jealous trainers, drivers and owners throughout Australia and New Zealand over the last few weeks.
We at Harnesslink have been inundated with weeks of rumours and we have continued to deny any knowledge off any known impropriety.
It is unclear if something that may or may not have happened has actually happened or may still happen, if the thing that may have happened ever happened in the first place.
What’s been going on is disgraceful”, and the treatment from within a certain part of this Industry shows “a lack of respect” and that “enough is enough”.
What drives these haters? Is it just jealousy? What these haters are saying is certainly defamation! You had better be careful if you are spreading the rumours!
Defamation is an injury to the reputation or character of someone resulting from the false statements or actions of another. Defamation is a false attack on your good name. Your good name is regarded as a proprietary interest, not a personal interest. Defamation is an improper and unlawful attack against your proprietary right to your good name, your reputation.
  For us at Harnesslink here today was the tipping point, we heard from four individuals, two from the media in Australia and two in New Zealand, that the All Stars stables had been raided by the police over the last few days, so we decided that we should investigate, as we thought that this is getting out of hand.
Maybe there was some truth to the rumours!
We contacted the head of the Racing Integrity Unit in New Zealand who stated that there is no investigation of the All Stars Stable or Mark Purdon and that the rumours are just that rumours.
The RIU stated also that they have been questioned about the Mark Purdon rumours from other people as well but they have nothing to add except to say that the All Stars Stable has being tested more that any other stable in Australia and New Zealand and they are 100% clean and there is nothing pending.
Thank goodness!
Just last week a harness racing publication printed an article that stated that 38% of their readers (maybe they only have a few and they are gamblers) says that the biggest problem facing harness racing today is the All Stars Team domination. I disagree completely.
Harness racing problems world-wide center on it's unqualified, old and tired administrators and the people that put those administrators in those places of power in the first place. Nothing will change for the better unless their is a revolt against the establishment by concerned players.
The biggest problem facing harness racing today is the All Stars Team!
What a joke!
For any one in the harness racing Industry to be jealous of what I will state as "the greatest Harness Racing Stable on Earth," is alarming to say the least. These people should take a good look at themselves or get out of the game!
Most of us are in awe of the All Stars Stable and we should all be proactive in promoting it to all our young drivers and trainers. The All Stars Stable represents many owners and many other people in the Industry and is our Industry showcase and this is the one, true, professional part of harness racing in New Zealand that we should be proud off and want to be a part off.
Haters - It is time for you to shut up or get out!

And while we are at it let's ban Phil Williamson and Paul Niarn from all trotting events, Chris Waller from Australia and Joel Moreira from Hong Kong. Probably should ban the All Blacks too - tiresome seeing them winning all the time.  Be careful Greg and Nina Hope too as you are winning far too many races recently. Why can't people just enjoy wonderful horseman/womanship and stop living negatively everyday. Don't you think Brodie we are sick of you whinging everyday about your unproven restrictions and how wonderfully your life is, and your snide comments re successful trainers must be using something? It gets tiresome.

Didn't Dester have a drive in the race? Normally they lead, trail
 

For a total spastic, I have to give you credit for being a master troll.
221 horses at the Park last two Fridays..... this week Cambridge on Sunday. Do the maths.
Double-ups are unsustainable in the North Island in the Winter. 
This has been somewhat addressed in the new dates calendar. 
Crowd attendance won't be affected one iota - last Friday the stand was choc-full of businesses treating their workers and clients to Mid Winter Christmas.
What was going on at Addington

Then you live in fantasy land and obviously have another agenda.
Cheers.

Great day on the punt good valve on good horses and if you don't get excited seeing new talent like Partyon and Heaven Rocks and winners like Rocker Band and Custodian  well i'm not sure you are a harness fan

I cannot let the dribble on this post continue any longer without saying something.
All the people I KNOW  go to the races to see good horses racing against good horses. Where are the biggest crowds, NZ Cup Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Japan Cup Day, etc etc.  All over the world the biggest crowds are where the best horses race. Why here at NZ harness racing should we settle for less. The All Stars win most of the best juvenile races because they have the best horses. Why on earth should we limit them because some on here feel its unfair. I want to see the best horses racing producing great times and earning their races. Good on the All Stars if it happens to be them at the moment. 
Of the nine races to day all winning horses were owned by different owners, the way it should be sharing it around. So what if the All Stars trained several winners, they were the best horses on the day. From a punting point of view contrary to Brodies opinion it would have been a great day for the punters and many would have made a lot of money. Four winners were favorites three were 2nd favs and 2 were 3rd favs. The way it should be on one of harness's biggest days. The small and BIG punters would have all been happy. Except for Brodie of course. For those who wanted to spend less and make big, the exotics were there as well with five 1st 4s paying over four figures up to 5 figures. 
The Jewels was a great days racing with the top aged group racing and great times. When our horses go to Aus they clean up over there so we should be proud of our younger brigade  and enjoy them for what they are TOP HORSES. Yes I do prefer the racing on a track like Ashburton but it does need to be shared around between north and south so Cambridge it is. Unfortunately there are no Ashburton like tracks in the NI. Remember it wasn't long ago Aus had no Menangle or Melton either.
For me the highlights were the easy win of Monbet in a great time after having the hardest run of the race, the great and unlucky effort of Dream About Me running 1,53 like it was a training run and No, 1 the superlative win by Heaven Rocks in only its 7th start and first mile run. To run 1.52 and run away and hide was breathtaking. A huge horse he has stayer written all over him. Someone posted a similarity to the great Hands Down and I can see this. I am excited to see him fulfill his potential.
So lets enjoy the cream of NZ Harness racehorses and the thrill they provide rather than all the negatives that some posters always seem to find. If you dont like watching the best  carry on enjoying Manawatu,Wairio or wherever you watch but dont moan to the rest of us who enjoy the best against the best.
  

.This your first post.hmm.Up to the other owners/trainers to lift their game.It like saying Tri Nations boring because All Blacks win most of the time.

A bit harsh Ritchie. Been a great servant to the game for decades and just like most people, not perfect

You will get better information off the Purdon web site than from Mick Guerin 

You will get better information off the Purdon web site than from Mick Guerin 

Ignore the experts and back your own judgment. Many people will be tuning into The Box Seat tonight. Some looking to be pointed and influenced in a certain direction. Don't.
The Jewels are nine group one races where everything is stacked in the punters favour like no other harness meeting of the year. NZ Cup day is big but lets face it,there are numerous supporting races with just so so stakes for such a big day and many connections won't be targeting those races with high priority. Not so Jewels day. Every horse in every race is there ready to perform to the best of their ability on the day. We've all seen these horses go around numerous times previously so have a very good line on their actual ability. We know their form so can weigh up where they rank alongside their opposition. To paraphrase,we know how good they are and that they are on the job. What else do you need?
I respect the knowledge of Craig Thompson and Michael Guerin but there are limits to that. They have steered punters in the right direction many times previously but they have also been so wrong you have to wonder about their eye. Craig obviously chats often with the Butcher boys and that is invariably reflected in his perspective just as Michael communicates long and often with his good friend Mark Purdon. This is also reflected in a bias. I watched The Box Seat several times and witnessed Guerin give huge pushes to one All Star over another to the point you'd have to be extremely determined to stay with your original choice if that was the All Star Micheal Guerin was strongly advocating would not beat the stablemate. He has been completely wrong numerous times. I enjoy opinionated judges that put their judgment on the line but it's important on days like the Jewels that we don't let them talk us out of our picks.
Craig Thompson has a good eye and spends a lot of time doing his homework. I respect him as a form analyst but he also gets it wrong often. I've seen many of his strong pushes do zero in races and wondered what the hell he was thinking. At the end of April the three year old superstar Marcoola headed to Auckland. This horse beat up it's opposition big time in Christchurch in a way that left no excuses whatsoever for them. Very rare to see such a dominant performance that was not an All Star or The Orange Agent.  Did more work than anything else in the race on a good pace and then had the audacity to bolt away from the opposition and leave them gasping. You don't do that by accident. To my eye it was just a matter of times and margins for the Auckland trip. I backed him with supreme confidence. Only bad luck could beat him based on everything I'd seen. I tuned into The Box Seat and Craig Thompson gave a big push for High Gait and repeatedly stated Marcoola represented no value at the price the accountants had put up etc etc. We all know that will invariably be the case anyway so no rocket science there but I feel certain he talked a lot of people out of Marcoola by repeatedly stating the accountants had got it wrong. There is no value backing the beaten brigade and sometimes the pursuit of value can steer us away from what is a very very good thing.
I will record tonight's The Box Seat and watch it after The Jewels. If you think Sunny Ruby can out-sprint Monbet in the home straight then bet accordingly regardless of what the experts say. If you think Monbet would need to fall over to get beaten then don't let anyone sway you against that thinking. Most judges feel Dream About Me has virtually no hope from her draw in the 3 yr old Diamond. As a result she is now at 2.20. Personally I'm laughing at that. If she was from a different stable I wouldn't be interested but in my opinion she is way better than her opposition. I'm extremely confident she will get off the fence early simply because of who's sitting in the cart. She can work harder than all the others and still beat them. When she comes calling, do you think a stablemate will fight her if she wants the front? Extremely rare for Mark Purdon to suffer bad luck in a race...especially a Group One. 2.20 is money for old rope in my opinion and I will totally ignore the draw. I may get burnt for that but it will be my burn that nobody else had any part in. 
Weather forecast for Saturday looks very good so no slushy winter track to deal with. Biggest uncertainty for me is the length of time since many runners last raced. How big a factor will this be?
I can see some races that look all over red rover but I can see others that look dead set traps. Wouldn't be at all surprised to see a couple of long priced winners.
Back yourself as much as you back the horses in Saturday's Jewels.  

Maybe the Premiership might have something to do with it as well? 

Obviously Brodie you have never experienced the thrill of halving a starter in the jewels.  To see so many good horses racing on the same day makes it a great spectacle.
The jewels are not later this year  - it's still the first weekend in June as usual.

The quarter was 29.2 when mark took the lead . If she parks mark then Blair would be going for parked position which mark wouldn't hand up so there be more pressure and probly have to run a 28 quarter to hold him out. Which means nat would have to be running to stay in front. It not like she swung back in the cart waiting for it , mark seen Blair coming  3wide and decided to press forward . Initially mark looked happy to site parked until he see the 3wide like coming. Stil think best horse won and would've won sitting parked

The threshold for cobalt in NZ is to reduce from 200 nanograms to 100 nanograms with effect 1st August 2016. 

If as you say they are owned by different people, then if I was one of the owners I would be sorely pissed off if using stable tactics ,my horse was the scapegoat for one of the other horses. I don't think so, they will be run on merit. That gives everyone a chance, allowing for barrier draw and luck in the running.
You conspiracy theorists amuse me.

So why dont we scratch the 7 and have 6 runners instead.I cant see how it is bad for the sport HAVING THE BEST AGAINST THE BEST.Tall poppy syndrome again,do you want to soften things down a bit like the joke that super rugby draw now is.

Shows how out of touch the directors employed by trackside are. Far to many closeups as well. You lose all continuity in the race. Trots are the worst. Was one of the reasons i gave up betting on them, it annoyed the hell out of me.