Dar Lunn knows how to win a Mendooran Cup.
The former jockey, who retired from race riding in 2011, has won the Mendooran Cup a few times, and he last triumphed in the event in 2004 when guiding the Phillip Ayoub-trained Classic Surprise ($7) to a comfortable victory.
On Saturday, 19 years after his last win in the race, Lunn will be looking to win his first Mendooran Cup as a trainer, with Daredevil (Jake Barrett, gate three) and Destiny’s Son (Georgina McDonnell, gate eight) contesting the 1200m Benchmark 66 Handicap.
Lunn went close in the 2019 Mendooran Cup, with Zoutenant (Yvette Lewis) starting well in the market before finishing third to the Jane Clement-trained He’s Our Toy Boy (Anthony Cavallo).
“I won it a couple of times, not yet as a trainer, but don’t worry, I’m trying,” Lunn laughed.
“A couple of years ago, I started Zoutenant, and I thought he just would win, but he got beat.
“I would love to win it; it’s a race we target, and I hope this year we can win.”
Daredevil is the stable’s leading chance in the race, with the seven-year-old racing in good form of late.
Two starts back, he finished a solid second to the Jane Clement-trained Sparks in the Collie Cup at Gilgandra, and last time out, he got into a speed battle with the Clint Lundholm-trained Beauchamp and ran third, with the pair eventually beaten by the Bryan Dixon Jnr-trained Ecker Road.
With Daredevil owned by Dar’s wife, Jill, he might be in the dog house if the I Am Invincible gelding doesn’t claim the $16,000 feature.
“We’d like Daredevil to win; my wife owns it, and she wants it to win,” Lunn laughed.
“His runs have been good this preparation, and if he runs up to his best, he’ll take some beating.”
Destiny’s Son, owned and raced by Noeline Bradley, is a recent addition to the Lunn yard after the Husson gelding previously raced with Peter Sinclair in Moree.
The four-time winner is up to this class of racing, having won the 2022 Bingara Cup, but after a first-up fourth in last Saturday’s Gulargambone Cup, Lunn believes the seven-year-old will need another run before finding his best.
“The other horse (Destiny’s Son) is looking for a bit further,” Lunn said.
“At Gular, that was his first run in 35 weeks, and he’ll be better second-up, but I think we’ll see the best of him at his next run.
“There’s nothing much else coming up, and this race suited him, and he’ll be a lot better for the run.”
A golf course most of the year, Mendooran Turf Club do a great job of having its racecourse up and running for their once-a-year meeting each September.
Lunn will take a team of four to Mendooran, with McDonnell to ride Talisman Saber (gate three) in the 1500m Maiden Plate and Miss Adrenalin (gate two) in the 1500m Class Two Handicap.
“I think the track is good and will suit those on-speed runners,” Lunn said.
“Mendooran has a good committee; they work hard, and we try to look after them as much as we can, and I think those two other horses are real chances.”
It’s set to be a massive day at Mendooran, and for more on the race day, click here.
For fields, click here.
