Akuta set to head back to the trials

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk 

The one-time poster boy of harness racing in this country, Akuta is edging closer to a race day comeback.

The Mark and Nathan Purdon-trained star damaged a tendon in training last year and has not raced since finishing third in the Lincoln Farms 2023 Franklin Cup at Alexandra Park.

For months now Mark Purdon and partner, Matamata Equine Centre veterinarian Dr Barbara Hunter have been plotting his competitive return to the track, with reports suggesting his x-rays are encouraging and that a full recovery is possible.

“Her recommendation was to have a trial now and give him the opportunity to get through that with a rest period and go from there. That is what we will do,”  Nathan Purdon told the Purdon Racing website, "the NZ Cup is still pencilled in as a hopeful target but nobody is getting carried away yet.”

That trial could be as early as next week.

Now a six-year-old, Akuta is currently at $16 in the IRT New Zealand Cup market.

As a four-year-old in 2023 he won the Auckland Cup, the Ashburton Flying Stakes and the Kaikoura Cup before finishing second in the New Zealand Cup and the Free For All to Swayzee and Self Assured.

Overall he has won 16 from 31 starts with over $1.1m in stakes.