Big weekend for Dunn partnership, closes gap on rivals

After a stellar weekend of harness racing results in the South Island which saw them winning five races, Robert & Jenna Dunn have closed the gap on their Stonewall Stud contemporaries, Amanda & Steve Telfer in the New Zealand trainers premiership.

In doing so they have lit the fuse on another storyline that will dovetail beautifully into what is set to be an epic final four months to the new racing calendar.

The Dunn training partnership (52) is now just eight wins behind the Telfer partnership (60) who along with the powerful Purdon/Cullen barn (51) are all within striking distance of one another.

Robert Dunn has been around this game long enough to know that winning the premiership is never easy. And while accolades such as the training premiership are a welcome reward for the graft of preparing horses, they are a by-product of the hard work he and his team ultimately strive for.

“In all the years we’ve been training I’ve never been one to chase it. We were lucky to get two during unusual times but as long as the horses race well, and the owners are happy the results will take care of themselves.

“We were about 15 behind a little while ago but Steve and Mandy have been a bit quiet over winter. We have a really strong team coming through and they have a powerful team to unleash themselves shortly. Then you have Mark and Hayden who will be round the corner firing winners left and right and I think it will be a good contest over the next four months,” said Dunn.

With no team racing at Auckland this week and governance matters to attend to in his new role as an HRNZ board member, Dunn was on hand at Addington on Friday night to see the team firing on all cylinders.

Kicking things off was the well-bred two-year-old, Charlie Brown (Art Major – Gold Elite), who upset a tidy field of juveniles in the fifth on the card at odds, coming from a one out and three back position to unwind powerfully up the Addington straight.

CHARLIE BROWN REPLAY

He is out of a full sister to a millionaire in Gold Ace and appeared to derive benefit from a spell that saw him gelded since last racing in the autumn.

“We had him up in Auckland and Johnny initially thought he might be a Young Gun type horse, but he just couldn’t handle the track as good as we would have liked. We had sort of half pie made the call to geld him, so we gave him a run before turning him out and sent him home and he’s come up nicely.

“I was surprised about the price ($17.60) because young Riley Harrison who works for us had driven him for us in his trials and in his second trial the commentator got it round the wrong way. He got home over the top of Who’s Delight (Bettor’s Delight) and that could have played a part in altering the price,” he laughed.

It’s an interesting outtake given the workout results fail to reflect that and with no video to verify, punters could feel somewhat bemused had they backed Who’s Delight on the back of his excellent workout and trial form. After being sent out almost odds-on favourite for his race debut, he was easily reeled in by his stablemate and finished into fourth, but Dunn wasn’t disappointed with his charge.

“He was a little bit nervous before the race, so we have a little bit of work to do there with him. He was stroppy when he arrived and didn’t really settle as I would have liked. There was a bit of pace on early and that sort of took the sting out of him, he’s obviously got a bit to learn, and I think the nervousness he showed prior to the race says time will be his friend and a wee bit of poking round. I think Johnny will drive him for a sit next time as he has very high speed if saved for a run. He pulled up very well after the race and we will look forward to his next outing,” he said.

Dunn also lined up two daughters of Art Major in the race in Mystify Me and Judine and despite not figuring in the finish was happy with them also.

“They got held up bad those two fillies and both drivers were really pleased with their runs and with some nice races on the horizon they should only be improved for those targets,” he said.

Two races later Dunn was back in the winner’s circle with Magic Four (Bettor’s Delight) who was having his first South Island start for the Woodend Beach barn.  He was fresh up for six months having changed stables shortly after an autumn campaign that saw him upset in the rich NZB 3YO Harness Million final.

“He was very good,” said Dunn.

“Tim drove him in his trials and really likes him, he said to Johnny he has a fair bit of upside to him and a bit of speed which is something we thought he may have lacked a touch. He led and Johnny said he was a very relaxed horse and a bit lazy in front. It was only when Kyle’s horse came up outside him (Whiskey Cavalier) that he really got his mind on the job and his last 100m was super. That was a great run first time up for six months and he’s settled into beach life well,” he said.

MAGIC FOUR REPLAY

The Dunn operation has experienced enormous success in recent times with the trotting gait with the likes of Sundees Son and Highgrove to name a few.

When a daughter of the greatest living French trotting sire came through the gate in Ready Cash, Craig Edmonds could have been forgiven for licking his chops at the prospect of working with one of his few Southern Hemisphere sired progeny.

Soundsofcash however has never shown any desire to do anything but pace, which while remarkable, makes a little more sense when you consider she is out of a 1:54 Live Or Die mare (Sounds Alive) who won eight races in hopples.

In France alone, Ready Cash is the sire of 251 million euros in progeny earnings. Of his 4000+ global progeny, Soundsofcash is the only winner sired in the pacing gait, something she has now achieved on eight occasions, and the best may be yet to come.

“Her record is actually very good and if you go have a look at right since we first had her you’ll see that. I’m excited that there might be some more mares racing coming up in programming because she would have to be in the top 2 or 3 in the country at the moment you would think.

“She’s a lovely mare and Johnny thinks she is always better driven with a sit, so it was great to see her being used a bit early and still find the line super as she did. She has a great attitude and I think there are a few more wins in her,” said Dunn.

It wasn’t all rainbows and lollipops on Friday night with short-priced favourite Mataderos proving expensive for punters who expected the royally bred son of Dream Vacation to be good for a small field of intermediate trotters, despite his 30m mark. Dunn offered some reasoning as to what went wrong and what followers can expect to see him back to his best over the Spring.

“He ran out on Johnny and turned his head onto the pole when they went into the back straight and he can’t run out at all, that’s why he doesn’t go to Auckland because he’s terrible right-handed. We might have to alter the pricker a bit on the pole, we took one off him because he was getting in on the turns and we thought he was trotting good enough at home and the trials to be able to cope with it. He’s one of those horses who must be trotting dead straight to be trotting any good so the pricker will be back on him next start to square him up a bit better,” he said.

The stellar weekend for Robert and Jenna Dunn continued Sunday at the Oamaru meeting where they picked up their 18^th and 19^th trotting winners for the season.

Tyron Arohanui (Father Patrick) justified her second favourtism for the Group One New Zealand Trotting Oaks when she took out the fifth on the card, her third career win from only eight race day starts.

TYRON AROHANUI REPLAY

The margin wasn’t as convincing as punters would have hoped but it’s clear the young trotter has a few kinks still to be ironed out.

“There is a lot of work to be done with her. She’s green and doesn’t keep her mind on the job all the time but she is a lovely going trotter. She switched off completely on Johnny when she kicked away at the top of the stretch and sort of half pie went to sleep.

“I was quite impressed with her last 20m when she got going again when it looked like she might get run over. It was great for the Neumann’s with Vinnie having a baby boy a couple of days earlier on Friday,” he said.

The second win came in the feature trot on the card, the Golden Fleece Hotel Kurow Trotting Cup, with Fighting Fire (Peak) saluting triumphant in just his second start for the beach training partnership.

The half-brother to Group One winner, Heavyweight Hero (Muscle Mass), capitalised on a dream run in the trail to pounce halfway up the straight and reel in the local runners.

“He can trot, and he definitely has a bit of a motor. I think there is a fair bit more work to do with him and a fair bit more improvement. He’s a big bold horse and he looks like he has a nice turn of speed about him, it was a nice effort and an improvement on his previous run,” he said.

With Spring only a few weeks away, Southern harness racing fans are set to get their first taste of the revamped racing calendar with the time-honoured Maurice Holmes Vase underpinning a fantastic night of racing on Friday night.

The Dunn partnership is seeking a third win in four years in the feature pace with the winner getting automatic entry to the big dance on the second Tuesday in November.

“We have four in the race, and I think they all will have improved with their last start efforts a fortnight ago,” he said.

“I was very impressed with Smiffys Terror (Terror To Love) last time, his last 200m was really strong. We weren’t sure he would cope with the rise in grade the way he did despite how good he went over the winter. He stepped up the other night and if you watch his run the other night, if the running line had got going a wee bit earlier, he could have been right there with them. He’s just one of those surprise packages that come along every so often who just don’t stop improving,” quipped Dunn.

“Bob was pleased with Steel The Show and mentioned he thought he was pacing a wee bit funny until he asked him to stride. Korbyn was pleased with Classie Brigade and Heisenberg well of course he will run second again wont he,” laughed Dunn.

Earlier in the night he lines up the first starter, McKendrick (Sweet Lou) in the 2YO race who he admits to having a wee bit of time for. The big son of Sweet Lou has been trialing impressively and rallied well last Wednesday to hold out his stablemate Bach (Bettor’s Delight) when securing his ticket to the races.

“He trialed up really well and has a lot of high speed so that’s quite exciting. We bought him off Dave Kennedy at the sales and he’s a son of Sweet Lou, I’ve got a bit of time for them. He’s got to go against Charlie Brown and quite a nice field, but we are looking forward to it and think he might just make the grade this boy,” said Dunn.

The first heats for the rich Nevele R Fillies series are on Friday night’s card and the field has attracted a solid 10 nominations for the contest. The $15,000 heat sees Dunn lining up two fillies, Dance Til Dawn (Art Major) and First Rose (Bettor’s Delight), who should benefit from their fresh-up runs last Friday.

“Dance was unlucky on Friday, Johnny thought she would get crossed with Ben’s horse having that much gate speed and didn’t want to wind her up too much. He would have had to get the bat out to even remotely be a chance of holding the front and I don’t think she would have come back to him if he did.

“I was impressed with First Rose in her first run back, she’s a nice filly and we have high hopes for her going forward,” he said.

The feature trot for the night in the Basil Dean Free for All was looking like a non-event with only three nominations yesterday afternoon but with five runners looks like a chance of going ahead.

It would see the resumption of the countries leading trotting mare, Gold Chain (Muscle Hill) taking on the likes of an in-form Majestic Man (Majestic Son) and the Greg & Nina Hope duo of Midnight Dash (Muscle Hill) and comeback trotter, Enghein (Love You).

For complete race entries, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink