A 20-hour round trip from the Queensland border to Sydney has proved lucrative for trainer Matthew Dunn as he notched a two-state treble.
While he was at Eagle Farm on Saturday watching two-year-old Arrestar win on debut, his wife, Kiera, was representing the stable at Rosehill, where Flitero won the Country Classic (2000m).
They have 80 horses in work at their Murwillumbah base 10 hours north of Sydney and are increasingly making the journey after prize money increases in NSW.
“I can’t explain how big it is for us,” Kiera Dunn said.
Dunn-trained Delightful Feeling was jockey Christian Reith’s first Saturday winner in Sydney since July 2, winning the Highway Handicap (1300m).
He made it a double almost 90 minutes later with Flitero after the horse saw clear running at the 150m mark and kicked away from the field.
“He came around the corner around the 700 metres and he could have come out but I played my cards and thought I will just see,” Reith said.
The five-year-old entire is raced by breeder David Simpson.
“His owner has got quite a few older stallions and he’s living the dream trying to find one good enough to breed with,” Dunn said.
“He hasn’t had much luck but all his horses are really well bred.”
Despite drifting from $3.40 to $4.20 before the race, Flitero held on to favouritism and won from Avroson ($20), with Mysticism ($6.50) third.
“He’s certainly braver when he’s got a bit of space,” Dunn said.
“He’s a massive horse with a massive stride.”
The stable’s team of four horses made the trip on Wednesday night, arriving on Thursday about 3.30am.
Delightful Feeling was further proof the Dunns’ formula works when he held on to give the stable its third Highway win since October.
They will target a Saturday metropolitan race in Brisbane at his next start.
“I think now that he has put two together back-to-back he should be able to go on with the job,” she said.
