I am carefully considering the motivation for this thread but one thing I will say in respect to one side of the coin.
Australia's loss is definitely NZ's gain.
The closest I have gotten to Natalie Rasmussen is probably 50 metres in the stabling barn at Addington. Accordingly I do not know her personally but Boyo boy is she an absolute star horseperson.
I have heard many times how horses run for certain jockeys but they are nothing on how horses run for her. Watching her drive in a race and seeing what an absolute star Blackie was I wonder if he made her a star or she made him a star.
I said above that Oz's loss was NZ's gain but against that I really wish I could have seen them compete here in NZ. He did make one trip to NZ but thanks to the Earthquakes it was in Auckland when it should have been at Addington. Thanks mother nature!!!!


Her driving prowess here in NZ is evidenced by her UDR ratings over the past seasons since she moved here but they are only statistics and don't show the true ability in the gig. I along with many Kiwis are grateful that she chose not to give the driving away when she considered it after falling foul of the stewards over, if I remember, how many times she used the whip in a race.


Along with her undoubted ability in the race gig is what she has clearly broughtt to the day to day work with the horses. Some noticeable things have changed since she started out at All Stars. One clear example (tho I may wrongly attribute to her) is the number of All Star runners now racing without headchecks. More an Australian thing than a NZ thing which suggests her influence moreso than another innovative idea from Mark.