Sundees Son’s tenacity gets him over the line

By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk

Sundees Son had to call on all his champion qualities to overhaul stablemate Chief Of Staff to win the Pastor Stephen At Llowalong Farms Handicap Trot (2600m) at Addington Raceway on Friday night.

Punters who had taken the $1.50 winning odds on Sundees Son were holding their breath throughout, with the classy trotter sitting several lengths in arrears of his rivals for much of the race.

The tempo was honest from the outset, with stablemate Chief Of Staff a chief protagonist, assuming the pacemaker role on several occasions.

Sundees Son finally caught the pack with 1200m to go before improving three-wide at the 600m mark to sit outside of Chief Of Staff. The stablemates continued their duel down the home straight with Sundees Son eventually coming out the victor by a mere nose.

“It was a great run, I was really thrilled with that,” said Robert Dunn, who trains in partnership with daughter-in-law Jenna Dunn.

“He had five days off after his last race, so it was a nice wee freshen-up for him, and he looks like he is coming pretty good.

“They were going pretty hard all the way, so off the 30m he wasn’t really fast away so that made it a little bit hard for him.

“Johnny (Dunn, driver) just took his time catching up, but he has got that amazing ability to pick horses up around the bends. He can make speed around the bends that no other trotter can do. That put him right into the race and he is such a wonderful horse.

“Chief Of Staff is trotting super at the moment and there wasn’t much in it, but Sundees Son’s tenacity and ability got him over the line.”

Dunn was just as pleased with Chief Of Staff’s performance.

“He has really stepped up,” he said. “We had to be careful with him for a wee bit there, he had a month between races nearly, and it was a great second to Mataderos (last start in the Gr.2 Banks Peninsular Trotting Cup, 2810m).

“I thought it was a super run today, Turtle (Tim Williams) drove him terrifically. He trotted away and handed up to Woodstone, got pushed back and came out again, led again, and it took all of Sundees Son’s champion qualities to overhaul him. He is definitely a horse that is going places.”

Dunn is also excited about the spring prospects of Woodstone after he ran on well to finish fourth.

“I was rapt with him,” Dunn said. “He is on the improve that horse.

“Last week was a very good run but I thought his run tonight was super. He is trotting so much squarer now and he is back to what he was a couple of years ago. I think he is going to have a really good season.”

Diamond Racing secured a treble at the meeting courtesy of Allegra in the Alabar Fillies & Mares Mobile Pace (1980m) and Soundsofcash in the McMillan Equine Feeds Mobile Pace (1980m).

“Allegra is a really talented filly and going forward she should be right there with the best of the two/three-year-olds. She is a great staying filly,” Dunn said.

“The other mare is a share speed horse. Johnny drove her perfectly. She is not that good in front, she tends to over-race a bit, but he sat her back early and let her come into it at the right time.

“She has got wonderful speed, which she proved tonight, so that was great.”

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