Tasmanian Aiden Nunn is living two dreams at once as he travels the mainland playing the polo circuit and saddling up Brilliant Jet at race meetings along the way.
The journey has taken the 30-year-old trainer from his home in Longford to Victoria, northern NSW, Queensland and now Sydney where Brilliant Jet runs at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
Nunn was in the squad for the Australian team but just failed to make the cut for the final nine to compete at the upcoming World Polo Championships in Sydney.
With Brilliant Jet in good form, Nunn is hoping he can perform well in Wednesday’s benchmark 75 Handicap (2200m) to boost his rating for the future.
Since he broke his maiden at Launceston in January, Brilliant Jet has added wins at Kilmore in country Victoria, Grafton in northern NSW and the Gold Coast in Queensland.
“I’d really like to get a metropolitan win under his belt to get his rating up,” Nunn said.
“I’d like to run him in the Devonport Cup in January when we get back home.
“The polo circuit goes to Queensland in the winter and now we are on the journey south again.”
At his most recent start at Doomben on September 16, Brilliant Jet finished fifth, beaten less than a length behind Ingeegoodbe who has won four in a row.
Nunn was a racehorse trainer before he took up polo and figures that’s what he will eventually do full time.
“I was late getting to polo and I haven’t had my best season,” Nunn said.
“I started training when I left school and have always had a couple in work and that’s what I’ll eventually turn to when I’m old and broken from polo.”
The sport is not for the faint-hearted with Nunn suffering fractures to both the major bones in his left leg and dislocating his ankle in a fall last season.
It is also hard work with Nunn on the road with 16 polo ponies as well as Brilliant Jet.
“It will be easier next year because we are getting a semi-trailer that can hold 20 horses,” he said.
“It is a 24-hour job.”
