The trainer Matt Dunn is brushing aside Another Cashie’s fresh failure, tipping the three-year-old for a sharp improvement and sneaky effort in the Group Two Queensland Guineas despite being at long odds.
He kicked off his campaign solidly at Gold Coast on April 4 before fading to the backmarkers in the Daybreak Lover Plate (1400m) secured by favourite Brave Monarch for the Guineas, which Dunn would sooner disregard.
“That was just a disaster last start, and he’ll bounce back from that on Saturday,” Dunn said.
“He missed the start, circled the field, and did way too much work. He drew a bad gate, and the plan was to try to go forward, but he didn’t jump, and we didn’t adjust.
He just worked too hard during the race, but he’s a decent horse and he deserves his spot.”
Another Cashie’s recent mishap stained his page, but prior spring results reinforce Dunn’s view.
Third at Eagle Farm to the classy Grafterburners in November, he fought to a half-length second behind Brave Monarch at Sunshine Coast wrapping up his prep.
Barrier four awaits Saturday, positioning Dunn’s $81 hope for at least a top-five finish.
“Absolutely. From a good gate, we can ride him properly and he’ll make his presence felt,” he said.
“The aim long-term is to get him through to the (Queensland Derby). He’ll run that trip, so that’s our ambitious plan.”
Dunn expects quick sprinter Without Parallel to bounce back in the curtain-raiser post her wide run at Doomben on return.
Post-Kosciusko effort, her wide gate Saturday poses issues, but Dunn has her peaking to win.
“We’re just going to have to use her speed, so hopefully she doesn’t have to work too hard to get across,” he said.
“First-up it didn’t work out for her at all. We got stuck three-deep with no cover and things didn’t pan out as we hoped.
But she’s great. She will be hard to beat, she just needs a bit of luck from that gate.”
Completing the Eagle Farm team for Dunn are Maurraqa and dependable stayer Belvedere Boys.
Check betting sites for the latest betting markets for the race in the Queensland Guineas.
