Purdon and co-trainer Natalie Rasmussen are targeting Spankem and Self Assured at the group 1 event on Saturday, January 23, as part of their farewell tour of Australia.

Purdon and Rasmussen announced in November they are taking a break from harness racing next year.

They are closing down their All Stars stable at the end of this month and will formally give away training after campaigning a select number of horses in Australia in late summer.

Spankem and Self Assured will spearhead their presence in Victoria's Summer of Glory Carnival, which begins with the Ballarat Pacing Cup and climaxes with the AG Hunter Cup at Melton two weeks later.

Spankem and Self Assured are facing the possibility of going head-to-head with Victorian champion Lochinvar Art in Ballarat.

Purdon has dominated the Ballarat Pacing Cup over the past decade - training five winners since 2012 and driving two.

His run began with Highview Tommy, which he trained and drove.

He had the two roles with Smolda in 2016, but handed over the reins to fellow Kiwi Anthony Butt for Smolda's second victory in the cup in 2017.

Rasmussen then drove Heaven Rocks and Thefixer to wins for the All Stars in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Spankem has been a regular visitor to Australia since 2018 and has raced in Ballarat twice.

He won a Victoria Derby heat on Ballarat Cup night in his Australian debut in 2018 and finished third in an Inter Dominion heat at Bray Raceway later that year.

Spankem won a support race on last year's cup program on his way to taking out the Miracle Mile in Sydney.

Self Assured is aiming at a second start in the Ballarat Pacing Cup, having finished second to fellow New Zealander AG White Socks this year.

New Zealand-trained pacers have a remarkable record in the race, having won 10 this centenary - beginning with Yulestar in 2001.

Eight of the past 10 have gone across the Tasman.