-
It would seem that Jimmy Takter has little respect for his horses if he knew Lazarus was not well before the race. If owners tried to pressure him into starting an unfit horse he should have told them to find another trainer.
Lets hope there is no permanent damage to his lungs and he can race a few more times to show his true potential.
I'm no Purdon fan but I doubt he would have let him run until he was fully recovered.
-
Compliments of All Stars Harness Racing...
http://www.allstarsracingstables.com/special-occasions
“Nobody ever rang. I didn’t really expect it because that is the way they do it over there but then maybe I could have been of some help to Jimmy even though he is such a great trainer. Because the environment and racing is so different they prefer to form their own opinions and fair enough. ”
-
This is an excerpt from an article in NZ Herald in June 2018 about Lazarus......so I find it interesting that he has made the statement he did in the above article on their webpage??
But one text on Saturday morning, as he was preparing for his six-win domination at the Harness Jewels at Cambridge, brought a wry smile to Purdon's face.
It was from North American trainer Jimmy Takter, the new trainer of Purdon's champion pacer Lazarus.
Takter is a harness racing legend. His horses have won more than US$120 million. He wanted to chat to Purdon.
"Jimmy texted saying he had got my number off somebody and he wanted me to know that Laz has arrived safe and sound and looked great," said Purdon.
"And then he asked me if we could talk sometimes because he had some questions about Laz.
"I was stoked to get the text and am looking forward to talking to him because he is obviously one of the leading trainers in the world and I am really hoping Laz will do a great job up there so I am happy to help," said Purdon yesterday.
"To be honest, if Laz was going really well and was set for a decent race or two in September, I'd love to go up there and watch him race and even ask Jimmy if I could spend some time at his stables.
"I think that would be a really good experience."
-
Similar to the above in some Media Jimmy Takter is quoted as saying although Laz was on antibiotics they didn’t think there was anything still wrong with him, in others that the SAA test never really normalised. Hard to know what the real stories are.
But what is known now is Lazarus future is at stud and he will stand at Deo Volente farms in 2019
-
It would help his US stud career if he kept racing a bit longer and improved his time. They never got to see him at his best , it would be a sad way to end his racing life.