Robert Dunn injured in morning track accident

A winning harness racing double at Alexandra Park on Friday night (Jan. 20) didn’t put the usual smile on senior training partner Robert Dunn’s face.

Because he wasn’t there to enjoy it, being at the far less enjoyable Middlemore Hospital south of Auckland after an early morning track accident.

Dunn was getting MRI scans around the time firstly The Brave then Mountain Mass won races 2 and 2 respectively, after having fallen from the sulky heading to the Pukekohe training track on Friday morning.

He was diagnosed with a broken elbow and two broken ribs and will wait to hear from an elbow specialist about whether it can heal or will need some metal work inserted.

“I was just taking a horse down to the track when his brand new bit broke,” says Dunn.

“I obviously lost all control and I knew I was going out so as I was falling I made the very quick decision to land on my side rather than straight out the back and land on my head, which obviously can kill you.

“So I managed to control the fall as much as I could and the horse wasn’t hurt so it could have been much, much worse.

“I will wait to hear what they want to do about the elbow but it is not like I am Jonny or Dexter (sons) and need my elbow to be out driving in races all the time.”

Dexter has been back in New Zealand on holiday from his fulltime driving job in the US and flew from the South Island to support his father once he heard about the accident.

“It is great Dex is here but I am going to be okay,” says Dunn.

In typical racing fashion he still knew about his two Alexandra Park wins even from hospital and was able to return home on Friday night.

Friday night’s meeting has some very appropriate wins, with Crystal Hackett driving The Lawman to win the Crystal Hackett Leading Alex Park Junior Trot while Zarias, trained by Zachary Butcher, won the Zachary Butcher Leading Alex Park Driver Pace, after a lovely steer from Monika Ranger.

The star of the night was Double Delight, the former Harness Jewels winner, who beat the older horses in the main trot of the night and will head to a $30,000 mares’s trot at Cambridge next week.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand