NEWS
Dunn rides fourth straight Blue Diamond winner
Posted: Saturday, February 23, 2008 3:49 PM
by Mike Curry
Jockey Dwayne Dunn guided Reaan to a win in the $937,150 Arrowfield Blue Diamond Stakes (Aus-G1) on Saturday at Caulfield to record his fourth consecutive victory in the Group 1 race for two-year-olds.
Dunn rode Undoubtedly to a victory in the Blue Diamond in 2005, guided Nadeem to a win in ’06, and was aboard Sleek Chassis for a 1 1/4-length score last year.
Dunn’s Blue Diamond victories aboard Nadeem and Reaan came for owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum.
Reaan, a Hussonet colt, rallied from off the pace with a wide move into the stretch and held off stablemate All American and third-place finisher Burgeis to prevail by a neck in 1:11.44 on turf rated as dead.
"He's come through for me today," Dunn told the Australian Associated Press. "It's hard enough to get four rides in the race. I've had four rides for four wins.”
Trainer David Hayes also picked up his third consecutive win in the Blue Diamond Stakes, and he has trained the top two finishers in each of those victories. Hayes was asked after the race if he had enlisted Dunn to ride for his stable in next year’s Blue Diamond Stakes.
"That's a given," Hayes said.
All American edged Burgeis by a head.
Reaan finished second to Exceedingly Good in the Maribyrnong Plate (Aus-G3) on November 3 at Flemington and entered off a five-length romp in the Arrowfield Stud Blue Diamond Preview on January 26 at Caulfield.
Bred in Australia by Arrowfield Group, Reaan is out of winner Ribe, by Danehill.
Mike Curry is Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
