Dunn's Happy To Tip Tipungwuti
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday April 14, 2007
THE decision not to run Tipungwuti in last Saturday's AJC Australian Derby should reap dividends today. That's the opinion of Caulfield Cup-winning jockey Dwayne Dunn, who rides the three-year-old in today's Packer Plate at Randwick.
"As it turned out, it could be a good move," Dunn said. "He might have gone through a heavy track but it might have gutted him; it would have been the end of him."The Mark Kavanagh-trained Tipungwuti was beaten by Miss Finland on debut as a juvenile. The gelding made it a winning hat-trick when toying with rivals to win the Tulloch Stakes at Rosehill on Golden Slipper day."He has always threatened to do what he did the other day," Dunn said. "We've worked out he wants a distance; sprinting him, he was disappointing. Now he just tucks his head down nice and produces a nice turn of foot when you want it."I couldn't believe he won as easily as he did at Rosehill but we've had a great opinion of him."DIGGER BAN: Jockey Darryl McLellan was suspended at Gosford on Thursday for three weeks for an incident that occurred after the winning post.Racing NSW stewards said McLellan directed his mount into the path of a horse ridden by Leanne Olsen. McLellan was also fined $200 for using obscene language to Olsen during the race.Both jockeys were fined an additional $100 each after exchanging words in the jockeys' room following the event.TIGERISH PUNT: A Sportingbet punter yesterday lashed out on Sydney Cup favourite Blutigeroo with a $100,000 wager being placed on the last-start The BMW winner at $3.10.But despite the Colin Little-trained Blutigeroo coming off a group 1 success, the Chairman's Handicap, won last weekend by No Wine No Song, has proven to be a better guide when it comes to finding the Sydney Cup winner. In the past 20 years, five The BMW winners have contested the Sydney Cup, with only Tie The Knot (1999) completing the double. In the same period, Henderson Bay, Linesman, King Aussie and Major Drive completed the Chairman's Handicap-Sydney Cup double.GRAND CHANCE: Trainer Eric Musgrove is happy with Karasi as it bids for a third straight victory in today's $1.89 million Nakayama Grand Jump in Japan.The 12-year-old ran third in the Pegasus Jump on March 24, a race in which he was also placed in the past two years, in preparation for today's 4250m race.Karasi, ridden by Brett Scott, and stablemate Personal Drum, partnered by Craig Durden, worked together this week, with Musgrove telling the Japan Racing Association website: "I couldn't be happier about both the horses' workouts. Karasi just seems to love the atmosphere here and the attention that he gets. He thinks it's like going on a holiday here."I think that the Nakayama Grand Jump is what a real steeplechase is meant to be. It's a test of the horses' jumping ability as well as agility and staying ability with its dips, the change of directions and various jumps. It gives the opportunity for horses from both inside and outside draws to have a chance, and it's a real test for the skill of the rider."IRISH BID: Last year's Grand National winner Numbersixvalverde leads a host of contenders bidding to maintain Ireland's dominance in the famous steeplechase at Aintree this weekend, reports AAP.Five of the past eight Nationals have been won by Irish-trained horses, including Numbersixvalverde, a 12-1 chance in London betting and trying to become the first to win back-to-back Nationals since Red Rum in 1974.Forty runners will line up for the 7200m test on drying ground that has forced organisers to water the course this week.
© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald