<div id="ct_code_block_100038_post_2400" class="ct-code-block">Dunn Eyes Domination Of NRRA Country Championships (Lismore Saturday)</div>
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<p><strong>By Greg Prichard</strong></p>
<p>Murwillumbah trainer Matt Dunn says the stranglehold his representatives Fukubana and Tribeca Star have on the betting market is as it should be heading into the Evergreen Turf NRRA Country Championships at Lismore on Saturday.</p>
<p>TAB has Fukubana as a $2.50 favourite ahead of Tribeca Star at $2.70 for the $150,000 race over 1410 metres.</p>
<p>The only other horse at less than double-figure odds is Lubrication, a $6 chance that is also trained by Dunn.</p>
<p>The first and second placegetters will qualify for the $1 million Evergreen Turf Country Championships Final over 1400 metres at Randwick on April 5.</p>
<p>Dunn says he&rsquo;ll be &ldquo;disappointed&rdquo; if he doesn&rsquo;t qualify at least one horse and is &ldquo;optimistic&rdquo; about the chances of getting two through.</p>
<div id="attachment_141517" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img class=" wp-image-141517" src="https://www.racingnsw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/dunn-ws.jpg" alt="" height="203" data-attachment-id="141517" data-permalink="https://www.racingnsw.com.au/news/country-news/big-representation-from-dunn-stable-at-grafton-tuesday/attachment/1786562-jpg/" data-orig-file="https://www.racingnsw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/dunn-ws.jpg" data-orig-size="2784,4176" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D6&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;1786562.jpg&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1516380734&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\u00a9 Copyright Bradley Photographers 02 48681433 \r\nWeb \/ screen display only.Not to be printed.\r\nCredit to Bradley Photographers\r\nNo other use or distribution.All rights reserved.\r\nphotos@bradleyphotos.com.au&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;180&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;2800&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;1786562.jpg&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="1786562.jpg" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://www.racingnsw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/dunn-ws.jpg" data-large-file="https://www.racingnsw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/dunn-ws.jpg" />
<p class="wp-caption-text">Trainer Matthew Dunn (Pic: Bradley Photos)</p>
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<p>The trainer has a sensational winning strike-rate of 29.60 per cent in country races this season and because of that his opinion going into a big race in which he has multiple fancied runners is important to hear.</p>
<p>Fukubana originally went up as a $2 favourite, but subsequently eased as Tribeca Star firmed and Dunn says the tiny difference between the pair now is much more like how he sees it.</p>
<p>&ldquo;On his form Fukubana should be short, shouldn&rsquo;t he,&rdquo; Dunn said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I mean, he&rsquo;s got proper stakes form.</p>
<p>&ldquo;In saying that I&rsquo;d probably have Tribeca Star a little bit in front of him just because he&rsquo;s a bit more seasoned and a bit tougher, but the two of them being close in the betting is right and you could go either way.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the same as in most years, you need proper city form to be competitive in a qualifier, so they&rsquo;re where they should be at the top of the market.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Lubrication is a little bit shorter than I&rsquo;d see him, but he&rsquo;s definitely in with a chance.&rdquo;</p>
<p>As a three-year-old, Fukubana finished fourth in the Group Two Hobartville Stakes at Rosehill in February of last year. He then finished well back in the Group One Randwick Guineas before going for a long spell after sustaining an injury in trackwork.</p>
<p>He has resumed with a third followed by a win, both in Brisbane.</p>
<p>Tribeca Star, which won last year&rsquo;s NRRA qualifier and finished sixth in the final, has had one run this time in for an excellent third, also in Brisbane.</p>
<p>Lubrication was also an impressive third in Brisbane at his only run this campaign.</p>
<p>Here is Dunn&rsquo;s take on the chances of each of his three runners:</p>
<p><strong>FUKUBANA</strong>: &ldquo;He was excellent last start over 1350 metres. He was in an awkward spot in a slowly-run race and really didn&rsquo;t get to his top speed until the last 100 metres but he was still very effective and really put them to the sword in the end.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s probably going to be at his absolute best over a little bit further than 1400, but we&rsquo;ve kept him nice and fresh for this so he should be sweet.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long way back when you&rsquo;re off the scene for as long as he was, but he&rsquo;s come back great. This time last year his Hobartville run was terrific and I think we&rsquo;ve nearly got him back to where he was then.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>TRIBECA STAR</strong>: &ldquo;He got stuck wide in last year&rsquo;s final. He never got any closer than five deep. Drew a bad gate and it went against him. But he was still good value in running sixth.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I reckon he&rsquo;s now going better than last year. Good first-up, just got a long way back and they ran home in really quick time, so he&rsquo;s in good shape.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I can see him settling down in a nice spot from barrier four, about fifth on the fence, and he&rsquo;ll be well placed to make a run at them from there.&rdquo;.</p>
<p><strong>LUBRICATION</strong>: &ldquo;His form doesn&rsquo;t look as good as the other two, but first-up he was excellent. He should&rsquo;ve won, he just got stuck in behind them at a really vital time in the race and had to drop anchor and sort of go back and let the winner go and then try to go around it.</p>
<p>&ldquo;No doubt he should&rsquo;ve beaten the winner (Volcanic Love, which is also in the qualifier).</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a chance for sure and these horses just seem to run for our new apprentice, Jett Newman. It&rsquo;s quite incredible how well they go for her and she&rsquo;s had a great start to her career. I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;ll do his best for her.&rdquo;</p>
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Matthew Dunn Racing

Dunn Eyes Domination Of NRRA Country Championships

Matthew Dunn

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<br />Welcome to the wrap up of the 2025 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.&nbsp; We looked for value only at this sale for owners to be able to be a part of the stable and we found just that with these really nice yearlings.&nbsp;<br /><br />Lot 255&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;STAR TURN Filly for $80,000<br />https://inglis.com.au/sale/2025-classic-yearling-sale?tab=catalogue&amp;selected_lot=255<br /><br />A big strong Filly with a great frame who carries her size well. A page littered in black type.<br /><br />Lot 271&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;OLE KIRK Colt for $70,000<br />https://inglis.com.au/sale/2025-classic-yearling-sale?tab=catalogue&amp;selected_lot=271<br /><br />By the leading first season sire and 2YO sire for this year with the Breeder's Plate winner and Magic Millions winner.&nbsp; A direct descendant of the Niarchos' 3 time Group 1 winner and Champion 3YO Miler EAST OF THE MOON.&nbsp; Such an easy moving horse.<br /><br />Lot 561&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;ACROBAT Filly for $70,000<br />https://inglis.com.au/sale/2025-classic-yearling-sale?tab=catalogue&amp;selected_lot=561<br /><br />A strong, good looking Filly who will run early just as her father did.<br /><br />Enquiries and further information sales@matthewdunnracing.com or Sue at admin@matthewdunnracing.com

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<div class="article-news__feature__img"><img src="https://static.perform.news/sites/2/2025/01/02064137/4da556b563bdf135b47333b8c31463f2-1.jpeg" alt="Matt Dunn thinks he has his best chance to win the Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic." /></div>
<span class="caption">Matt Dunn thinks he has his best chance to win the Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic.</span></div>
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<div class="news-author__details">By&nbsp;<a class="news-author__details__name" href="https://www.racenet.com.au/news/journalist/ben-dorries">Ben Dorries</a><br /><time class="date" datetime="2025-01-01T19:40:06.000Z">05:40am &bull; 02 January 2025</time></div>
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<p>Trainer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/profiles/trainer/matthew-dunn" target="_self" rel="noopener">Matt Dunn</a>&nbsp;is not prone to hyperbole so when he says he has a two-year-old colt who can win the Gold Coast Magic Millions, it might pay to listen.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/profiles/horse/torque-to-be-sure-aus" target="_self" rel="noopener">Torque To Be Sure</a>&nbsp;currently sits just outside the 16-horse starting field in ballot order for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/magic-millions">$3m Magic Millions 2YO Classic</a>&nbsp;(1200m) on Saturday week, so is set to race on Saturday to secure his spot.</p>
<p>Dunn expects Torque To Be Sure to win Saturday's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/form-guide/horse-racing/gold-coast-20250104/aquis-gold-nugget-2yo-cg-race-1/overview">Gold Nugget (1100m)</a>&nbsp;on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/tracks/qld/gold-coast">Gold Coast</a>&nbsp;&ndash; a race in which the colt only needs to run a place to book a spot in the rich Magic Millions a week later.</p>
<p>Torque To Be Sure was a flashing light run at his first race start&nbsp;<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/news/vein-girl-proves-too-quick-for-her-rivals-in-magic-millions-the-debut-20241220" target="_self" rel="noopener">when powering home to finish runner-up behind Vein Girl in the $250,000 The Debut at the Gold Coast under lights on December 20.</a></p>
<p>Torque To Be Sure has been strongly backed from $2.80 into $2.30 to win on Saturday and, in recent days, has been $34 into $21 to score the rich Magic Millions.</p>
<div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" class="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=RacenetTweets&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1870040967505694810&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.racenet.com.au%2Fnews%2Fvery-good-colt-trainer-matt-dunns-best-chance-to-win-gold-coast-magic-millions-2yo-classic-20250101&amp;sessionId=8f46ae51b565dfac8b78d548c861302031e90826&amp;siteScreenName=RacenetTweets&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-tweet-id="1870040967505694810" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
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<p><strong>&bull;&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/news/3m-sunlight-slot-race-barriers-arabian-summer-draws-wide-20241231" target="_self" rel="noopener"><strong>$3m Sunlight barriers: Arabian Summer draws wide</strong></a></p>
<p>"He's a very good colt &ndash; I think he will win on Saturday and he's every chance to win the Magic Millions as well," Murwillumbah trainer Dunn said.</p>
<p>"<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/profiles/jockey/nash-rawiller" target="_self" rel="noopener">Nash Rawiller</a>&nbsp;will ride on Saturday, half a kilogram over, and he will ride in the Magic Millions as well.</p>
<p>"I would say I would almost certainly race him on Saturday.</p>
<p>"Some people are telling me that even if I don't run him, he would probably make the Magic Millions field but I don't completely trust that.</p>
<p>"I don't want to end up as first or second emergency, I want to make sure of it.</p>
<p>"They will find it very hard to beat him on Saturday.</p>
<p>"I also feel he would be my best chance to ever win a Magic Millions 2YO Classic.</p>
<p>"There's not really anything there at this stage that frightens me too much."</p>
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<div class="pro-tips__expert__imgs" data-v-9c6bfe1f="">The seven-day back-up is a tried and true formula for success in the Magic Millions but even this far out, Dunn expects his colt to give a mighty showing in the 2YO Classic on January 11.</div>
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<p>Torque To Be Sure has been something of a surprise packet for Dunn considering the youngster was under threat of being gelded following his first trial.</p>
<p>Dunn described him at the time as a "pain in the arse" who almost certainly needed to be gelded.</p>
<p>But suddenly the penny dropped.</p>
<p>"When I gave him his first trial, straight after I said he needs to be gelded," Dunn said.</p>
<p>"But we gave him the benefit of the doubt and said &lsquo;let's go to another trial and see what he does'.</p>
<p>"From his first trial, his brain just clicked and he said &lsquo;OK this is what we do'.</p>
<p>"It has been quite incredible actually.</p>
<p>"Colts either go one way or the other, but this guy has just improved in everything he has done.</p>
<p>"He is just one of those colts that went the right way.</p>
<p>"Honestly, before his first trial, I thought he was a pain in the arse.</p>
<p>"But the penny has just dropped, even though he is doing something that he's not really designed to do because you would think he would be better at three years old at a mile."</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Dunn is contemplating running unbeaten filly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/profiles/horse/scripted-aus-1">Scripted</a>&nbsp;in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/form-guide/horse-racing/ipswich-20250104/class-2-handicap-base-rating-53-scaled-1kg-race-3/overview">Class Two Handicap</a>&nbsp;at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/tracks/qld/ipswich">Ipswich</a>&nbsp;on Saturday in a bid to get enough ratings points to qualify for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/magic-millions-3YO">$3m Gold Coast Magic Millions 3YO Guineas</a>&nbsp;(1400m) a week later.</p>
<p><img src="https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/b1f692e9b05ee577b6bdc9e523a6dacf" alt="Supplied Editorial Caption for pic 1: Impressive three-year-old filly Scripted wins for trainer Matt Dunn and jockey Sam Collett at Doomben. Picture: Natasha Wood, Trackside Photography. Caption for pic 2: Winning right Sam Collett (right) after the win of Scripted at Doomben. Picture: Natasha Wood, Trackside Photography." height="360" /></p>
<p><em>Impressive three-year-old filly Scripted. Picture: Natasha Wood / Trackside Photography</em></p>
<p>It is the first year that ratings points, rather than prize money, is being used to determine the 3YO Guineas field.</p>
<p>"Her whole campaign has been muddled by not being able to run her on wet tracks," Dunn said.</p>
<p>"I will think about running her on Saturday at Ipswich.</p>
<p>"She would have to win convincingly to get enough ratings points to get into the Guineas field.</p>
<p>"But if she gets in, she would be competitive."</p>
<p>Scripted is currently a $51 chance in the Gold Coast Magic Millions Guineas.</p>
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Very good colt': Dunn's best chance to win Magic Millions 2YO

In a very impressive win in the BRC Shoot Out Quality BELVEDERE BOYS has gained a start in the $1,000,000 Magic Millions Subzero at the Gold Coast Turf Club's feature meeting on 11th January.&nbsp; Dismissed by many as a wet tracker the horse was given a perfect ride by Damian Thornton to show that staying is really what he has been all about and is now loving getting out to these staying trips.&nbsp;<br /><br /><br />
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"To show just how good a horse he is he won 4 races at trips that were too short for him in reality.&nbsp; He's such a laid back character who goes about his business without fuss and just turns up and gets the job done for us on race day.&nbsp; His record says everything about him, he's earned prize money at 12 of his 13 starts &amp; even that day wasn't on him as we just had to run him in a race that wasn't suitable." said Matthew post race.<br /><br />BELVEDERE BOYS was bred by his owners Mark and Cherilyn Lowe who took the gamble on the very good Japanese racehorse MAURICE in his second season at stud.&nbsp; He is bred on the same MAURICE/REDOUTE'S CHOICE cross as the dual Derby winner and now stallion HITOTSU.

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