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Australian Racing News
Monday, June 19 2017

Reigning Scobie Breasley Medallist Dwayne Dunn is set to make a return this Saturday at Flemington with the rider determined to hit form quickly so as to grab what is shaping as the spring's biggest prize.

Dunn, who returns from a lengthy 24-meeting careless riding suspension which forced gun apprentice Regan Bayliss to the sidelines with a broken wrist, is the frontrunner for the ride aboard The Everest favourite Chautauqua at Randwick this October.

But the jockey said on Tuesday that he needs to hit the ground running over the next few weeks to strengthen his case for the ride in the $10 million race which is available because regular jockey Tommy Berry has taken up a contract in Hong Kong.

"Everyone wants to ride him," Dunn said of Chautauqua. "I've been fortunate enough to have ridden him before and hopefully fortunate enough to keep our relationship going.

"Without knowing what is going to transpire, the richest race being The Everest, hopefully I'll have the opportunity to play a large part in it."

The Everest is to be run for the first time on October 14, meaning it will clash with Caulfield Guineas Day, so Dunn said he is unsure where he may be required.

"You've got Caulfield Guineas Day, which is pretty important as far as building stallions and the Team Hawkes model has been built around that so whether they have got something there and I stay in Melbourne or I can head to Sydney, we'll wait and see.

"There's a lot of water to go under the bridge. Tommy's (Berry) obviously got to be in Hong Kong but there's a lot to play out between now and then."

Dunn was slapped with the lengthy ban after he was found guilty of careless riding at Geelong in late May in a race where Bayliss and Dean Holland were dislodged.

"Unfortunately it is what transpires (in an incident) sometimes which determines how long you have off," Dunn said.

"You probably see that (incident) 100 times at the races - you don't even get called in (to the stewards) - but unfortunately someone has fallen off and had an injury and that is the way our sport works.

"Someone needs to take some responsibility for it and that's where it landed at my feet."

Dunn said the long break from race riding was something of an unplanned blessing as it has allowed his body a little stint away from the rigors of day-to-day competition.

"What I've found in previous years, I've just kept working because there's always been a nice horse hanging around somewhere that you stay involved with," he said. "But this has been enforced and I'm ready to get back and looking forward to it.

"I'm pretty lucky in that my weight doesn't really fluctuate that much. I'll probably jump on one on Wednesday and then go into Saturday.

"But it's (suspension) given my body a chance to get into recovery mode and sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise."

Dunn has already been booked for the three-year-old speedster Wise Hero and for the older sprinter Sunday Escape at Saturday's Flemington meeting.

 



Dwayne Dunn, picture Quentinjlang.com
Posted by: AT 05:28 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
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