Latest News

By Ray Hickson

The home track advantage gives trainer Matthew Dunn cause to believe he could snare Friday’s $70,000 Riverview Hotel Murwillumbah Cup (1550m) with Badoosh or Impasse and, importantly, gain eligibility for the Big Dance.

Trainer Matthew Dunn (Pic: Bradley Photos).

And Dunn could potentially have three runners in the feature if fourth emergency Dorset Coast can sneak into the field.

Although there are a few at the top of the weights rated over 90, Dunn said the Murwillumbah Cup doesn’t appear any stronger than what the likes of Badoosh and Impasse are used to.

“They’ve both raced and been competitive in Sydney at Saturday level,’’ he said.

“They are similar, they mix it up a bit but when they turn up they are more than capable of competing at this level.

“They’ve both been up there a while, it’s their home track so it’s a pretty good advantage. I think they are both really good chances.”

Badoosh scored over 1800m at the Sunshine Coast in April and he’s been freshened up since his last start fourth behind Fast Talking over the same course on a heavy track on July 2.

“I think he was okay, he’s been running similar races,’’ he said.

“As long as he keeps running nice races, he can throw in a wobbly one, he can be competitive.”

The gelding, $8 with TAB on Friday, has only raced once on his home track and that was back in 2019 where he was narrowly beaten in a two-year-old event at his fourth race start.

Impasse ($16) will be making his Murwillumbah debut, but both he and Badoosh are of course well versed on the circuit, on the back of a close up fourth in the McLean Cup at Grafton and Dunn said the outside barrier doesn’t necessarily harm his chances.

Now eight, Impasse hasn’t won since scoring at Rosehill back in January and will likely need to emulate that win to put himself in the finish.

“It would have been good to draw a gate because then we could park him midfield,’’ Dunn said.

“He’ll have to go all the way back but his last two wins have been like that. I just don’t know if he could do that around Murwillumbah.”

If Dorset Coast secures a run Dunn said it’s a throw at the stumps but with a start in a $2 million race as the carrot he’s happy to go around.

In his favour is the fact he is a winner on his home track and did it with a huge weight when he resumed from a spell at the end of June.

“He was very good first-up, I don’t know if he is up to this level but he carried 63kg and he clearly races very well at home so that would be the reason I’d run him,’’ he said.

First and second in the Cup gain eligibility for the Big Dance at Royal Randwick on November 1, while eligible horses who don’t make the final field can contest the $500,000 Little Dance (also 1600m) on the same program.

Meanwhile, of Dunn’s large contingent on Friday he pinpointed lightly raced mare Tattletale as a promising horse who should be hard to beat in the Murwillumbah Services Club Handicap (1000m).

Tattletale wins at Ipswich on July 29

The four-year-old, $2.60 with TAB on Thursday, used an inside gate to hit the lead near the turn in her debut win at Ipswich on July 29. She was thought of by the trainer as a city class horse after she won a Rosehill barrier trial in February last year.

“She was in Sydney and she trialled like a rocket,’’ he said.

“We were going to take her through the carnival and she did a tendon in that trial.

“She won really well first-up in a race that was probably too short for her. She beat them because she was too good for them, she’s a decent mare and has loads of talent.”

All the fields, form and replays for Friday's Murwillumbah Cup meeting