Diet of seaside air for Chase A Dream in Christian Cullen countdown
Matt Markham - Raceform • November 20th, 2025 3:16 PM • 4 min read
When there’s a Group One on the line, you do whatever you can to give yourself the best chance of success – even if that means watching your horse driven out the gate to head somewhere else.
And while it might not be a position that Mark and Nathan Purdon have found themselves in too often over their training careers, it’s a path they’re willing to walk down with their enigmatic pacing star Chase A Dream ahead of the Christian Cullen 4YO Classic at Addington on Friday night.
After a somewhat disappointing effort in the Junior-Free-For-All on Cup Day, the four-year-old was on a float over to Woodend Beach and into the care of Robert and Jenna Dunn for a few days to try and revitalise the frustrating pacer.
“We’ve just tried to change it up a little and play with his mind a bit,” Nathan Purdon told RaceForm.
“He went out there last Thursday to try something a bit different, being out on the beach and being worked there. So far it’s been good, so we’ve got fingers crossed that we can see him turn things around.”
While he should have probably finished a little closer in the Free-For-All last week, the younger member of the Purdon training partnership was a little more forgiving than his father in his assessment of the performance.
“I thought Dad was a little too harsh on him given he’d had only one run back and will keep improving with each run he has. Sure, he’ll have to improve a lot, but we know it’s there. Right now we’ve just got to get the best out of him. That might still be a run away too, I’m not sure.”
What isn’t in doubt is the ability. Chase A Dream could be one of the best horses in the country if he lives up to his potential, as evidenced by his effort to run second to Leap To Fame in the Race By Betcha at Cambridge this year.
“Even at home you can tell he’s a pretty good horse. We were taking him into Addington to work with Akuta in the lead-up to the Cup, and on the way he was working, you can just tell.
“But for one reason or another he’s not always at his best on raceday or night, but the hope is that by getting him out to the beach we might be able to rejuvenate him a bit like you see so often with horses.”
Taking on Cup winner Kingman in Friday night’s $125,000 feature means there’s no room to hide – not to mention the fact the current crop of four-year-olds are as deep as most can remember.
But, with a barrier draw of two and a few options, it would be no surprise to see Chase A Dream fighting out the finish.
“At his best, he’s more than competitive, he could probably win it. But it does depend on what version of him shows up at the races – he could do anything and it wouldn’t surprise you.”
Off the back of a tough Cup Week for the barn, where a virus has forced most back to the North Island to recover and begin preparations for the Auckland carnival, a bold effort would be welcomed this week.
“A lot of the team underperformed and we think there was a bit of a virus in the team, so hopefully we can get them over that and back on track.”
Chase A Dream is the only horse the stable lines up at Addington on Friday night, a rarity for them given the wealth of riches available in the juvenile age groups throughout the meeting.
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