The Star: February 16, 2023

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22 The Star Thursday February 16 2023 SPORTS NEWS ANNUAL SALE WHILE STOCKS LAST Up to 90% off Curtains | Blinds | Shutters Unit 2 / 99 Sawyers Arms Rd 03 365 4666 or 0800 836 587 www.venluree.co.nz Purdon has punt on gallops as another stable change looms KNOCK: Matt Hay could lead Burnside West into the club one-day final with victory on Sunday. Burnside West aim to extend unbeaten run in semi • By Jaime Cunningham BURNSIDE WEST are favourites going into the premier club one-day finals on Sunday after an unbeaten round-robin campaign. The team, captained by Canterbury Kings player Matt Hay, will play Heathcote after finishing top of the round-robin competition, while second-placed Sydenham will take on Old Boys’ Collegians. East Shirley batted well to knock Lancaster Park out of semi-finals contention on Saturday, with some strong partnerships through the top and middle order to finish on 254/4. This meant Heathcote qualified for the play-offs, even though they were unable to defend their score of 301/7 against Old Boys’ Collegians. Nic Clark led the batting for OBC, with 129 runs from 111 balls, but a late flurry of wickets for Heathcote wasn’t enough to stop the home side winning in the last over. Sydenham will be confident going into their semi-final against OBC, after chasing down Riccarton’s first innings score of 235/10 with 83 balls to spare. Bevon-John Jacobs will be a key wicket for OBC this weekend, after he smashed yet another century (120 not out off 103 balls) in Sydenham’s nine-wicket win last week. Alex Tait will be hoping he can be the saviour for Burnside West again this week, after he took 3/32 in his nine overs bowling and made 43 runs (not out) to ensure the side kept an unbeaten record leading into the play-offs. Teams will resume the two-day competition on Saturday. •Men’s premiership semifinals (Sunday): Burnside West v Heathcote, Burnside Park, 10.30am. Sydenham v Old Boys’ Collegians, Sydenham Park, 10:30am. • By Michael Guerin CHAMPION harness trainer Mark Purdon has revealed the extent of his thoroughbred training ambitions as his All Stars stable gets ready for its next evolution. After recently being joined in partnership by his son Nathan the most feared stable in harness racing continues to undergo changes as Purdon seeks new professional challenges. And the biggest of those changes will be Purdon trying his hand at training thoroughbreds, having purchased three yearlings at the recent Karaka sales. “First and foremost, Nathan and I are in partnership and that isn’t going to change any time soon,” said Purdon. “But as people have seen over the last few years (partner) Natalie (Rasmussen) and I have taken more time away from the business, which last time was to travel. “I am fully involved back in the business now, but Nathan and I have also discussed the future and because I want to spend some more time working on the gallopers or even away from horses in the off season, Nathan and his partner Mikyala (Lewis) officially take over running the All Stars business from April 1. “That is the start of the new financial year and means the business and things like employment contracts can pass to them but I will still very much be part of the actual training.” Purdon, 58, said Nathan and Mikayla will be in charge of the day to day running of the business side of the stable. Purdon will be senior training partner but with the freedom to spend time doing other things, such as moving into training thoroughbreds. While he harbours no delusions of challenging Mark Walker or Andrew Forsman any time soon, Purdon says his increased interest in the thoroughbred code has come about for several reasons. “I think harness racing is facing real challenges and, while I still enjoy it, I also want to investigate what my future and that of the boys (Nathan and his other son Michael) may look like,” Purdon said. “I really enjoy watching the good gallops meetings and want to be more involved so I bought three yearlings at Karaka and also have a two-year-old that I will train later this season when I get through the major harness IN THE MARKET: Mark Purdon (right) and Barry Purdon buying gallopers at the Karaka yearling sales. Below – Nathan Purdon and his partner Mikyala Lewis will officially take over running the All Stars stable on April 1. races. I have applied for my gallops training licence so hopefully they approve it soon.” Canterbury trainer Danny Frye will break Purdon’s horses in and even do some pre-training if needed. But eventually Purdon hopes to be able to do slow work at the All Star’s Rolleston property where he has treadmills and a straight track, while fast work will be conducted at Riccarton. “That is obviously a long way off but I have had chats with Samantha Wynne (top Canterbury jockey) about doing some track work riding for me so I am putting plans together. “It it is exciting, the prospect of taking on a new challenge, but I am not under-estimating all the stuff I still have to learn.” Purdon has achieved everything possible in harness racing in this part of the world with a record that leaves no room for argument he is Australasia’s greatest ever harness racing trainer. Now Purdon is reevaluating his entire future. “I am still very motivated and want the best for our owners and horses and I will still be driving a lot but eventually I would like to slow down on that front and we are already taking to Blair Orange about doing more of our driving. “But a lot of this is planning for the future, whether that is the near future or further down the track. “I have run a big business for a very long time and if I want to make changes there have to be plans in place.” While Purdon’s future could be dual-code for the next few months it will be about trying to dominate the rich races coming up at Cambridge and, hopefully, Alexandra Park if the Auckland weather ever allows that flooddamaged surface to be repaired. The father-and-son team have the unbeaten Millwood Nike as a red-hot favourite in her $150,000 Harness Million tomorrow night, while they have a trio of three-year-olds taking on the northerners in the $200,000 male pacing final. “Most of them trailed at Pukekohe on the weekend and were good and, while Merlin is the one to beat in the boy’s race, the draws have evened things up.” Stable stars Self Assured and Akuta are also up north and will start racing in two weeks as they build toward The Race by Grins, worth $1 million, at Cambridge on April 14. – Harness Racing Desk
Thursday February 16 2023 The Star 23 Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz SPORT 23 Paris comes to the Mainland for fresh start • By Jaime Cunningham PARIS LOKOTUI is regarded as one of New Zealand’s most promising players – and was on the cusp of a Silver Ferns debut before injury struck. In May last year, the Central Pulse mid-courter faced her greatest obstacle yet, after she ruptured her anterior-cruciate ligament in her left knee against the Southern Steel. Now eight months after surgery, the 21-year-old has moved to Christchurch, and will be playing for Mainland in the National Netball League. “I came down here in the last week of January, and decided at the start of February I wanted to move, so [the decision] was quite recent,” she said. “[Netball Mainland] have a really good support system down here and I thought I would grow as a person living in a new environment as well.” In Wellington, Lokotui made her mark in the Queen Margaret College senior A team, before being selected in the Central Manawa team during her last two years of school in 2018 and 2019. In September 2021, Lokotui was selected in the Silver Ferns squad to play the Taini Jamison series against England but did not get on the court. She looked to be in contention for last year’s Commonwealth Games squad before injury struck. CHANGE: Paris Lokotui has almost recovered from the injury she sustained playing for the Central Pulse and has now joined the Mainland National Netball League side after moving from Wellington to Christchurch. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES She is now in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Commerce, with a minor in te reo Māori, at Victoria University and hopes to study and work while playing netball in Christchurch. But her main focus is getting back on the court. Mainland coach Tania Hoffman said Lokotui’s move was slightly unexpected, but she is excited about what she’ll bring to the young team this year. “It was a lovely surprise. Being able to call on someone with her experience is great for all the other players and, for Paris, it’s a good way to return to professional netball,” Hoffman said. Mainland will have several opportunities to train with the Tactix this season after last year’s Covid restrictions prevented them training together. With just five Mainland players returning to the side from last year’s squad, Lokotui will be a key leader within the young and inexperienced team. She said watching the Silver Ferns’ success at the Commonwealth Games was a motivation to work harder as she completes her final stages of rehabilitation over the next few weeks. “It really fuelled the fire to get back to where I was. I was so close, and the good thing about an injury is that it kind of fuels that fire behind close doors.” Although it’s a while away yet, Lokotui said staying in Christchurch next year and a potential stint with the Tactix is a possibility. “There’s so many positives about moving away from home. I just want to enjoy myself wherever I am and play some good netball,” she said. Another reason for Lokotui’s move to Christchurch is to spend time with her brother Cody who is in his second year at the Crusaders Academy. “I came to visit him in the middle of December, and I realised how much I missed him.” Their father Lua Lokotui played rugby for Tonga in two World Cups. The family often share lessons from their sporting experiences to help each other out. “Having someone so close to me who’s been involved in high-performance sport, it’s been really good. I’m really grateful for my dad’s support,” she said. The humble but determined Lokotui said her goals for the year are simple: “To play a full game and [make] sure I take every opportunity as it comes.” •Mainland’s first game in the National Netball League will be against the Marvels and broadcast live on Sky Sport from Christchurch Arena at 2pm on March 12. It will be the curtainraiser to the Mainland Tactix v Northern Mystics Cashmere looks strong ahead of clash • By Diane Keenan CASHMERE WILL be looking to avenge their first round loss to Burnside Park when the two rivals meet in the premier men’s tennis interclub competition on Saturday. Burnside Park lies in second place behind Elmwood in the competition with Cashmere in third. Burnside Park was upset 1-5 by Bishopdale on their home courts at the weekend, with junior Jake Parsons the only Burnside player to secure a win. Cashmere is coming off the bye and is expected to field a full strength team. Their stalwarts the Meredith brothers, Matt, Tim and James, have been in great form over the Christmas break with all winning national titles at the New Zealand Masters Championships, along with Burnside Park’s top player and coach Remi Feneon who did not play singles against Bishopdale. After last week’s win Bishopdale captain Tom Paine said his team goes into this weekend’s clash against bottom of the table Edgeware-Waimairi full of confidence. “We’ve got a great team which has performed consistently over the season. Some of our losses have been very close and could have gone either way. We will definitely hoping to do well again on Saturday,” Paine said. Bishopdale’s Will Schneideman is a strong No 1, who is well supported by Taylor Nelson and Thomas Hunter. In the other clash, Te Kura Hagley will play South Brighton at Te Kura, while competition leaders Elmwood have the bye. The women’s competition features competition leaders Burnside Park Bishopdale and third placed Te Kura Hagley on Friday night. Burnside Park Bishopdale was tested by Elmwood last week, before securing the win on a games countback. Juliette Ma and Rebecca Dellaway won their singles for Burnside Park and Louise Oxnevad and Emma Mason scored singles wins for Elmwood, with honours shared in the doubles. Te Kura Hagley was soundly beaten by a full-strength Cashmere Red, a win that moved Cashmere into second on the table. Cashmere Red with its wealth of young talent, including Ruby Young, Lucia Gale, Nishitha Maarka, along with captain Jenny Blackburn, should be too strong for bottom-placed Waimairi this week. Elmwood plays Cashmere Black with an interesting clash possible between the number ones, Oxnevad and Tessa McCann. Men’s points Elmwood 120, Burnside Park 104, Cashmere 94, Bishopdale 80, South Brighton 51, Te Kura Hagley 41, Edgeware Waimairi 28. Women’s points Burnside Park Bishopdale 98, Cashmere Red 86, Te Kura Hagley 77, Elmwood 65, Cashmere Black 37, Waimairi 35.
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