Natalie Rasmussen

Last updated

Natalie Clair Rasmussen (born 1977) is a driver and trainer of Standardbred racehorses in Australia and New Zealand. She has been associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in Australasia.

Contents

Biography

Rasmussen was born in Townsville, Queensland, in 1977.[ citation needed ] Her father was a harness horse trainer and her sisters, Kylie and Vicki, have also been trainers and drivers.

Rasmussen initially drove and trained harness horses in her native Australia. She was the first woman in Australia to have trained and driven an Inter Dominion winner with Blacks A Fake who she went on to win the championship with a further three times. In 2009, Rasmussen was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame. [1]

In 2010–2011, Rasmussen briefly tried her hand at training Thoroughbreds and had a winner at the Gold Coast with Abu Dhabi Gold. [2]

Rasmussen later moved to New Zealand and formally trained in partnership with Mark Purdon from 2014. During this period they dominated the major New Zealand races such as the New Zealand Trotting Cup, Auckland Pacing Cup and the Harness Jewels. [3]

In mid-November 2020, Rasmussen and Purdon announced they would cease their training partnership as from 31 December 2020. They would lease their Rolleston stables to Hayden and Amanda Cullen and, although staying involved when required, they would not be managing the day-to-day training operation. Rasmussen and Purdon said they intended to take a break after working with horses for a combined 70 years.[ citation needed ] Their last night as a partnership was the December 2020 Auckland Pacing Cup meeting at Alexandra Park in which they managed to quinella the Auckland Cup with Amazing Dream and Spankem.[ citation needed ]

From 1 October 2021, Purdon officially returned to the formal training ranks again and joined Hayden Cullen in partnership. It was also announced that Rasmussen would then re-join him in fulltime training from 1 January 2022, replacing Cullen, who would revert to being stable foreman again. [4]

Notable horses

Top horses that Rasmussen has been associated with include:

See also

Related Research Articles

The Great Northern Derby is a Group 1 harness racing event for 3 year old standardbreds. It is a major event for 3 year old colts and geldings in New Zealand and currently run at Alexandra Park in Auckland, in March.

The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The New Zealand Messenger Championship is a Group One event for standardbred pacing horses in New Zealand, run at Alexandra Park.

The New Zealand Pacing Free For All is a major New Zealand harness race. It is notable as it is a Group One championship sprint race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand.

The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with the New Zealand Cup, held in New Zealand each year for the highest grade pacers. It is a Group 1 championship race and has been won by many of the champion pacers in New Zealand.

Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing and trotting competitions for Standardbred racehorses. The difference is the horse's gait or running style:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter Dominion Trotting Championship</span>

The Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Final was a race for trotters within the overall Inter Dominion series. The series is held each year, and is a harness racing competition for both trotters and pacers that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. The host of the series is rotated between the 6 harness racing states of Australia and the North and South Islands of New Zealand. However, in recent years the Trotting series has mainly been held in Victoria with other Australian states reluctant to host the series. It forms part of the overall Inter Dominion series for pacers and trotters.

The Dominion is a race held at the Addington Raceway each year in Christchurch, New Zealand for standardbred horses.

Anthony Butt is a driver of standardbred racehorses in Australia and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Herlihy</span>

Anthony Grant Herlihy is a New Zealand driver and trainer of standardbred racehorses. He was associated with many champions and has been a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand. In 2014, he was inducted into the New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame, and he has also been inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.

Mark Purdon is a driver and trainer of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in New Zealand and Australasia. He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter Dominion Pacing Championship</span>

The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter Dominion Hall of Fame</span> Harness racing recognition organization

The Inter Dominion Hall of Fame is an organization created to recognise and honour those whose achievements have enriched the world of the Harness racing industry, particularly in the Inter Dominion series. The hall of fame was created to honor the standardbred annual races of the Inter Dominion which includes the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship and the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship. The races are held in a rotating cycle in Australia and New Zealand. The 2020 race is being held in New South Wales.

The New Zealand Derby is a classic event in New Zealand for 3 year old harness horses, run at Addington Raceway.

The New Zealand Sires Stakes 3yo Final is an event for 3-year-old pacing horses in New Zealand. The race is one of the major harness races in New Zealand and is contested by the top three-year-old horses, who have to qualify in heats run throughout New Zealand in the preceding six weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chokin</span> New Zealand Standardbred racehorse

Chokin is a New Zealand Standardbred racehorse who was notable in winning the New Zealand Trotting Cup, which is New Zealand's most prestigious horse race. Chokin is also one of the few horses to have won Harold Park Paceway's prestigious Miracle Mile Pace twice.

Lazarus is a former champion New Zealand Standardbred race-horse and is now a stud stallion.

Self Assured is a New Zealand Standardbred racehorse, notable for winning the New Zealand Trotting Cup in 2020 and the Auckland Trotting Cup in 2019 and 2022.

Christopher Vance was a Group One-winning New Zealand Standardbred racehorse, trained by Roy and Barry Purdon and generally driven by Barry Purdon or Tony Herlihy.

Bettor's Delight is a former champion American Standardbred race-horse and one of the World's greatest stud stallions.

References

  1. ↑ "Inter Dominion Hall of Fame".
  2. ↑ "Racing.com - Profile". www.racing.com. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen's All Stars stable clean up with five Jewels wins". 30 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Racing: New Zealand's greatest harness trainer making early return". NZ Herald. 12 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Rasmussen: 'I didn't realise how special he was' - Racenet". 23 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "Risk pays off as All Stars claim fifth win in row". 11 November 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.