By Michael Guerin
John Dunn thinks his team have the ideal horse for a new series of mares races set for the second half of the season in Canterbury.
Dunn suggests there will be a series of six mares races, usually run at two week intervals, in the region starting late August.
“We have been told there will be six races, three of them worth $60,000 and going through until mid November,” says Dunn.
“I think it is a great idea because it is important to give these good mares races they can target and keep them in the country.”
It also helps that Diamond Racing, officially made up of Dunn’s dad Robert and John’s wife Jenna training, have the perfect mare for the new races in Always B You.
She beat some tough, older rivals at Addington on Friday night as the improvement curve continued.
“She just keeps getting better and better,” says Dunn.
“So this series will be perfect for her and great for heaps of other mares around here.
“And after that she can head back to Auckland for a race like the Queen Of Hearts to give her her Group 1 shot as she races well right-handed.”
Dunn says the stable is on the improve after a slow start to the season but he says their defence of their training premiership title is already over as they have 44 wins for the season while Team Telfer went to 90 with a double on Friday night.
That puts them 16 clear of Michael House and they are $1.02 to win the title.
While one mare in Always B You was the star at Addington at a rain-soaked Alexandra Park it was another mare in Mantra Blue who took horse of the night honours.
She sat parked to win the main pace in the hands of Monika Ranger, pacing her last 800m in 54.9 seconds and showing she is right back to her best.
Other highlights of the Alexandra Park card were a training quinella for Roydon Downey with Sans Au Revoir and Saninarmbro while Craftsman suggested he is a two-year-old with a future when he won on debut after covering plenty of ground over the last 400m.
Later in the night Seaclusion continued her great form for Graeme Rogerson and James Stormont when she overcame starting from the outside of the front line to win the Woodlands Stud Silk Road Final for her high-profile ownership group.
It was her seventh career win and shows what a great weapon being able to run on the pace is, especially at Alexnadra Park.
Matty A won the main trot for trainer Sheryl Wigg, recording his first win for the season.