Crucial night for Dunn team

John Dunn.
John Dunn.
The national harness trainers' premiership battle is not quite over - but much will depend on the performance of Robert Dunn's team at Forbury Park tonight.

Dunn, with 111 wins, is 12 wins behind the Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen partnership after last last night's meeting at Addington, and Dunn's son, John, who looks after the Woodend Beach team, knows a big weekend is needed.

"If we have a really good weekend this weekend, we might be in with a bit of a hope but if we don't, it's not going to happen, unfortunately,'' John Dunn said.

"We were a long way behind six weeks out so it was always going to be a big ask. We're running out of time and horse numbers but we'll still tick away and see how close we can get to them.''

What has helped the Dunns' cause is basing up to six horses at a time with Martin Denton at East Taieri in the care of junior driver Craig Smith.

"He and Marty Denton have done a bloody good job,'' Dunn said.

"They're still having their ups and downs but that's the way it goes with a winter racing team, but overall, they're going pretty good.

The Dunns have three runners in the $10,000 Forbury Park claimers series final, one of two $10,000 finals on the night with the Forbury Park sprint series final.

The preferential-barrier-draw system in operation with the claimers means there should be plenty of speed early from the Dunn's leading runner, Donegal Jimmy Dave, and the Brian Norman-trained Four Starzzz Shiraz, who are both drawn out wide.

"He's been down [in Otago] for the last couple of weeks,'' Dunn said.

"He's gone two good races. He's just got beaten by a better horse on the night who has had a better run, but we're still happy with him.''

Vanhalem has gone slightly off the boil since providing Smith with his first winning drive last month but an inside draw should help.

"He did work when they went 2.43 the other day and that's not his cup of tea,'' Dunn said.

"It's hard going when they go that sort of speed up front. Nothing carted him into it so he went himself and it didn't pay off. He's drawn better tomorrow, so hopefully he'll stay a bit closer to the fence.''

Superior Desire has gone back to Woodend Beach since his last run on June 16.

"He's come back up here and had two weeks on the beach and he's working nice enough and seems well.''

Pembrook Harry (race 10) is a good chance for the Dunns to claw back the margin in the premiership, having drawn barrier 2 in a c1 2200m mobile pace.

"He's going great races every week, which you can't ask for much more,'' Dunn said.

"He's drawn nicely again.''

The formline and the draw suggest punters should stay away from Haydens Meddle in race 1, but Dunn said the 2yr-old has had no luck since making his debut at Rangiora in late May.

"He drew one in his first time off the place against three of [Mark] Purdon's and that On The Rantan of Cran Dalgety's and ever since then he can't buy a draw.

"I thought he ran home pretty well the other night because he got a long way back and he was wide.''

 


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