But Purdon says while the Cup is the first aim, it is still a tentative target.
"He will be nominated and then we will let him tell us if he is ready for it," he said.
"Because of the rating he will be on, he will have to race the best horses at some stage early in the season and that will give us a guide as to whether he is ready for the
Cup that early or whether we wait to later in the season to target an Auckland Cup.
"So he will start on a Cup campaign but if we think he is not ready, he could do what Ultimate Machete did this season — miss the Cup and wait for the Free-For-All."
That strategy worked last year when Ultimate Machete wisely dodged stablemate Lazarus in the Cup and won the Free-For-All three days later but this year's Cup is far more open without the enormous judder bar that was Lazarus in the way.
The TAB has pleasingly opened their earliest ever New Zealand Cup market, with nominations not even taken until August 29 and the fact Ultimate Machete is the $5.50 opening favourite confirms how open this year's classic looks.
Purdon is happy with how Ultimate Machete's issues which ruined the second half of this season for him have settled down and indicates the $800,000 Cup will suit him better than the four races of an Inter Dominion a month later.
With him being set specifically for the race, his $5.50 quote makes far more sense than the $6 for Chase Auckland, who is far from guaranteed to be there.
Any punter eyeing the Cup market should be careful though, as the bookies have not included Soho Tribeca, one of Australia's best pacers, who has been set for the race and should be viewed as coming.
And West Australian trainer Gary Hall confirmed to the Herald he will nominate Inter Dominion runner-up Chicago Bull and rates him a 70-30 chance of coming.
If that pair make it to the race, they will be among the favourites, so until they are included in the market, it is very much buyer beware.
With so many high-profile pacers exported or retired this year, one of the few genuine Cup winners still in the hunt for Addington this season is Dream About Me, who is the most forward of Purdon's big guns.
She pushed Lazarus to a half-neck in the Flying Stakes at Ashburton last season, and as a former Auckland Cup winner, would only need to hold together to be one of the New Zealand Cup's major players.
"She has had all sorts of problems with corns but they are good at the moment and she is not too far away from the trials," said Purdon. "So if we can stay on top of those problems, she is right up there with our best chances of winning the Cup this year.
"But obviously we don't have the same firepower as the last couple of years without Lazarus, so the race looks a lot more open."
Meanwhile, the stable's exceptional three-year-old filly Shez All Rock starts her Breeders Crown campaign in an easy non-tote heat at Addington on Friday and should headline a five-strong team for next month's rich series in Victoria.
Chase Auckland
- Unheard of maiden at the start of the season.
- Won eight of nine starts, three features and nearly $400,000.
- Now back in work and could target New Zealand Cup but not guaranteed to start.
- First markets for New Zealand's greatest pacing race are open earlier than usual.
