Trainer Matt Dunn capped a career-best season when his smart sprinter Band Of Brothers showed sustained speed to lead all the way in the Listed $200,000 Ramornie Handicap (1200m) at Grafton on Wednesday.
Band Of Brothers bounced back from an indifferent last-start effort and defied a series of challengers in the straight to score a popular win.
For Dunn, the leading trainer in the NSW Northern Rivers region of NSW, it was his first win in one of the “majors” at the Grafton Cup Carnival.
Band Of Brothers’ Ramornie success was Dunn’s 128th winner for the 2025/26 season, which takes him to sixth on the Australian trainers premiership.
But the trainer revealed the Ramornie wasn’t initially on his radar with Band Of Brothers.
“To be honest, it (Ramornie) was a bit of an afterthought,” Dunn told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“He went to the Glasshouse Handicap second-up and he was a bit disappointing but he was probably on the wrong part of the track.
“Today, he found himself in front, fought on really hard and they had the opportunity to get to him in the straight but he really dug deep.”
Band Of Brothers, confidently backed into $5 favouritism, was well rated in front by jockey Dylan Turner to win the Ramornie by one-and-a-quarter lengths from Pereille ($9) with Givemethebeatboys ($6) a nose away third.
Fire Star drew wide and was never on the track but ran well to finish fourth, beaten just over a length and a half.
Rising five-year-old Band Of Brothers’ Ramornie win was his second at stakes level after he took out the Group 3 Vain Stakes during his three-year-old season.
Band Of Brothers improved his race record to five wins and eight minor placings from 20 starts, taking his earnings to nearly $630,000.
The talented sprinter is now likely to be aimed at the $2 million The Kosciuszko (1200m) on Everest Day at Royal Randwick on October 17.
