Dubbo trainer Garry Lunn will welcome Saturday’s meeting at Wellington after it was initially moved from Cowra to Orange before the recent wet weather forced Racing NSW stewards to move it again, this time from Orange to Wellington.
“It’s a good thing for me because it’s not far from Dubbo,” Lunn laughed.
“As long as we are racing, it’s good, and Wellington is more like Cowra anyways and suits those on-pace horses.”
Lunn, who’s enjoyed a few winners of late, preparing a double at Binnaway in late April before more recent victories at Wellington, Bathurst, Gulgong, and Dubbo, will team up with champion country hoop, Mathew Cahill, who’s only recently made a return to riding from a 14-month injury layoff.
“He’s only just come back, but he’s right up there with the best of them on his day,” Lunn said.
“He just needs to get some miles into him to get back to tip-top shape, and he’s been back riding well; he’ll get to his best in the next month or so.”
The pair go back a long way, combining for some good winners over the years.
Lunn was just happy to have him on all three of his chances at Wellington, including Wandering Cloud (Gate 1) in the 1400m Maiden Plate, Freycinet (Gate 7) in the 1000m Class One Handicap, and Jarmanagic (Gate 12) in the 1000m Benchmark 50 Handicap for colts and geldings.
“I’ve been mates with him a long time, and I just rang him and said I’ve got three rides, and they’re all chances, and he took them all,” Lunn said.
“The good thing is, he manages himself and doesn’t take rides early, which means he can look at what the fields are like.”
Lunn’s enjoyed plenty of success at Wellington, landing 52 winners there during his time training, which is second most amongst active trainers, with Gayna Williams ahead on 54 Wellington wins.
“It’s just a good little track, and you’ve got to have a horse that is more on-pace,” Lunn said.
“You want horses that will be taking up a position because it can be a hard place to sit at the back and come home.”
According to Lunn, last-start Mudgee placegetter Wandering Cloud is his stable’s best chance, following the gelding’s good third at Mudgee over 1200m on July 2.
“He’s fit and hard, Mathew will go forward on him from the good draw, then relax him a little bit, and he’ll be hard to run down,” Lunn said.
Freycinet, a former South Australian, won first-up for the stable in a 900m Maiden Handicap at Wellington on May 28 but followed that effort up with a poor run over 1300m at Coonamble on July 18, and Lunn said the drop back in the distance would help his four-year-old’s chances.
“On its work, it can win; the 1000m will suit better, but the top weight (Minnewater) is the one to beat,” Lunn said.
Jarmanagic won three starts ago in an 1100m Benchmark 45 Handicap at Binnaway, and while Lunn conceded that the rising eight-year-old was a better non-TAB horse, he likes his chances.
“He won at Binnaway and went around in a strong 900m at Walgett, but he is going all right,” Lunn said.
“He’s only a small horse, and non-TABs and places like that suit him better, but it’s not a strong race; we’ll see how he goes.”
It will be a heavy surface at Wellington on Saturday, with Racing NSW inspecting the track today (Friday), rating it a heavy ten.
With the possibility of further showers, stewards are keeping a close on conditions.
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