Murwillumbah previews: Leading local trainer Matthew Dunn is ready to end 2024 on a high note

Matthew Dunn brought up his 200th Murwillumbah winner at the venue 14 days ago and with a big team engaged across the meeting, he is chance to set a new personal best.

Trainer Matthew Dunn could mark the final Murwillumbah meeting of the year with a personal best tally of winners. Picture: Getty Images

Matthew Dunn could break his own record for number of winners on the one day on his home track but will almost certainly regain the lead in the New South Wales Country Premiership standings.

Dunn only needs three to be back on top of the bush ladder but he’ll need to train a ‘magnificent seven’ to break his current personal best of six – a feat he has achieved twice.

Dunn’s breathtaking ‘numbers’ don’t stop there.

His winners-to-runners at Murwillumbah is a phenomenal 28.6 per cent which rises to 64.3 per cent when placings are added.

Dunn bagged a hat-trick at the most recent Murwillumbah meeting two weeks ago.

His final winner, Neil, was the most significant of the trio given it brought up his 200th Murwillumbah winner.

Harriet made Pierre Cardinnigan work for it, but the odds-on favourite gets the job done at Murwillumbah. @MattyDunnRacing and @mallyon_andrew combine to win for the second time today. pic.twitter.com/8fPdJ2lQes

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 13, 2024

The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here!

Given Dunn could saddle-up as many as 11 runners, the question all punters would like to ask the trainer is ‘who is your best?”

“Pierre Cardinnigan,” Dunn said.

Fittingly, Pierre Cardinnigan, the horse by one Golden Slipper winner (Pierro) and closely related to another (Stay Inside) has the distinction of being the first horse onto the track given his ‘race one, number one’ status.

“This will probably be his last run for the prep,” Dunn said. “We’ll give him a break after Friday.

“He’s done a really good job. He didn’t have much luck and probably nearly could have won all three of his starts.

“I think he is city grade.”

Dunn, meanwhile, is naturally eager for stable recruit Master Copy to secure automatic entry into the Ballina Cup (run on January 17 with Big Dance eligibility) via the Prelude.

Originally housed in England, then at Randwick with John O’Shea, Master Copy has won from 1400m to 1900m so should feel at ease in this afternoon’s 1550m assignment.

It was an easy watch for favourite backers, Master Copy and @mcacajamez cruise to victory for @JohnOSheaRacing. pic.twitter.com/SOsNG0Qgxr

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 14, 2022

“He is working really well,” Dunn reported.

“He is going better than I have seen him going since I’ve had him in work. As long as he begins right, he’ll be in the finish.”

Stablemates and paternal half-sisters Dernier Lien and Deuterium will be rivals for the day when they make their respective debuts in the Joe Booth Transport Country Boosted Maiden Plate (1100m).

“It is a shame I have got to run them in the race because they work together everyday and there’s nothing between. So, I don’t know, it could come down to whoever gets the best run,” Dunn said.

A change in gear could easily bring about a better outcome for Red Red Wine who more or less gifted the race to Toowoomba visitor Worthy Essgee when making his ‘Dunn debut’ at Murwillumbah 14 days ago.

“I was disappointed with what he did late in the race. He rolled in and got himself beaten. That’s why the blinkers have gone back on.”

MCCOLM CONFIDENT ELLRO CAN STAY THE DISTANCE

Any punters who doubt Ellro’s prospects of seeing out a strong 1550m for the first time can rest easy.

“She’s a miler,” her Kosciuszko winning trainer David McColm said.

“From day one she has always show us that once we get her to a mile, that’s her distance.”

Bred by Yulong Investments, Ellro had her first four starts inland for Moree trainer Peter Sinclair.

Her last two have been as a resident of Murwillumbah were a November 6 win at Grafton followed by a half-length second there 19 days later in a 1410m Benchmark 58 Handicap.

“It is probably just a little bit long between runs and it would have been ideal for her to have backed-up probably a week or ten days ago but I think she’s had enough work. Everything has been going well with her,” McColm said.

The favourites battle it out in Race 3 at Grafton!

The Michael Cahill-ridden Ellro chased down Cantankerous in the shadows of the post for trainer @davidmccolm2 ✅ pic.twitter.com/rHbAWkB9tD

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 6, 2024

“She’ll run a good race.

“It’s a tricky little race. There’s a couple of nice, handy ones in it, but she’ll be thereabouts.

“The way she raced at Grafton last start, she probably got a little too far back, and it was biased to the frontrunners whereas on Friday, we should be nice and handy.

“It’s only a small field, we’ll probably be running third, two out.”

McColm has plenty of options to consider with the (typical) daughter of Lonhro should she indeed be able to stretch herself beyond her 1200m Maiden win.

“If she performs well, we might try and look at a Highway for her or we may go midweek up in Brisbane,” he said.

Apprentice Bailey Wheeler will ride Ellro for the first time when she contests the Adventure Tourism Country Boosted Benchmark 58 Handicap (1550m).

Later on, Bailey will join the likes of Group 1 winning jockeys Damien Lane and Craig Newitt as those to have sat on the back of McColm’s other Murwillumbah participant, namely Torovista.

The Victorian-bred gelding was a costly commodity to his backers when a fading third in a 2000m marathon on the Gold Coast but with excuses.

“He had a tough run that day,” McColm said.

“He is a bit of a tricky horse who can do a bit wrong.

“We put a cross-over nose-band on him for the first time and he has been working in that and working really well.”