Natalie Clair Rasmussen (born 1977) is a driver and trainer of

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...

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 Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

Biography

Rasmussen was born in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, Queensland, in 1977. 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 Blacks A Fake is a brown Standardbred gelding that won the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 Inter Dominion Championships, making him the only four-time winner of Australasia's premier harness race. He finished second, beaten by a long neck, in the 2009 ...

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 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 hon ...

. In 2010–2011, Rasmussen briefly tried her hand at training Thoroughbreds and had a winner at the Gold Coast with Abu Dhabi Gold. Rasmussen later moved to New Zealand and formally trained in partnership with

Mark Purdon 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 D ...

from 2014. During this period they dominated the major New Zealand races such as the

New Zealand Trotting Cup 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 Chri ...

, Auckland Pacing Cup and the Harness Jewels. In mid-November 2020, Rasmussen and Purdon announced they would cease their training partnership as from 31 December 2020. They would lease their

Rolleston Rolleston may refer to: Places * Rolleston, Queensland, Australia * Rolleston, Leicestershire, England * Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, England ** Rolleston railway station * Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, England ** Rolleston Hall * 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. 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 The Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club (ARC). It is an Open Handicap for thoroughbred racehorses competed on the flat turf over 3200 metres (two miles) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. The race was ...

with Amazing Dream and Spankem. 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.

Notable horses

Top horses that Rasmussen has been associated with include: *

Adore Me Adore Me is a direct-to-consumer women's intimate apparel brand based in New York City. The company was started by Morgan Hermand-Waiche in 2010 while he was an MBA student at Harvard Business School and is a Certified B Corporation. History Adore ...

, co-trained to win the 2014

. * Amazing Dream, co-trained to win the 2020 Auckland Pacing Cup. *

, trained and driven to win the 2006

Victoria Cup (harness race) The Victoria Cup is the premier middle distance harness race of Australia. Conducted over 2575m, rather than the staying distance of over 3000m or the sprint distance of under 2000m, the Victoria Cup was run at the Melbourne Showgrounds up until 1 ...

, 2008

A G Hunter Cup The A.G. Hunter Cup is a competition in Harness racing. It is contested over 3,000 metres at Tabcorp Park in Melbourne, VIC. It is one of the world's richest handicap standing start events, currently worth A$425,000. The race was formerly stage ...

and the

Inter Dominion Pacing Championship :''for winners of the trotting event see: Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. The Inter Dominion was the brain child of Western ...

a record four times (2006, 2007, 2008 & 2010). * Dream About Me, co-trained to win the 2016 Auckland Pacing Cup. * Have Faith In Me, co-trained to win the 2015

New Zealand Trotting Derby The New Zealand Derby is a classic event in New Zealand for 3 year old harness horses, run at Addington Raceway. History Formerly called the New Brighton Derby Stakes from 1914 to 1925, the race was conducted by the New Brighton Trotting Cub and ...

& Auckland Pacing Cup. * Lazarus, co-trained to win the 2016

, 2016 & 2017

and 2017

. * Self Assured, co-trained to win the 2019 and 2022 Auckland Pacing Cup & 2020

., driven to win the 2022 Auckland Cup. * Smolda, co-trained to win the 2016

. * Son Of Pearl * Spankem, co-trained and driven to win the 2020

New Zealand Free For All 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. History of the race Horses which have won the ...

, co-trained to win the 2019

Miracle Mile Pace The Miracle Mile is an Australian harness racing event for Standardbred pacers that was held at Harold Park Racetrack each November until 2008 when the race was switched to Menangle Park Paceway. Prize money has long been among that of Austra ...

. * Thefixer, co-trained and driven to win the 2018

. * Turn It Up, co-trained to win the 2018 Auckland Pacing Cup. * Ultimate Sniper, co-trained and driven to win the 2019

& 2019

. * Vincent, co-trained to win the 2017

; co-trained and driven to win the 2017 Auckland Pacing Cup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Natalie 1977 births Living people Inter Dominion winners New Zealand harness racers New Zealand racehorse trainers New Zealand Trotting Cup winners

Biography

Notable horses

See also

References