[3] At the age of 14, he suffered an injury while playing rugby that resulted in his spending six weeks in hospital and six months with a cast around his hips, and left him with a permanent limp.
[4] Purdon began training with his father on a 400-metre track in New Lynn, but it was from the 1970s until 1995 that he dominated harness racing in New Zealand and Australia.
[3] Over that period, he wom the New Zealand premiership for leading trainer 21 times, on his own or in partnership with son Barry.
The pair trained four New Zealand cup winners: Sole Command in 1977; Luxury Liner in 1988; Christopher Vance in 1991; and finally Chokin in 1993.
[3][4] In the 1989 New Year Honours, Purdon was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to harness racing.