"I got a wee check at the 400m and got held up badly, so the ground he made up on those quick sectionals were good, too."
There is no Locharburn this week but Tiger Tara opened a deserved $1.70 favourite for tomorrow. He and Franco Nelson ($4.80) should have the fitness and class edge on most of their rivals. Grand Circuit performer Mossdale Conner ($7) and two-time Hannon Memorial winner Franco Ledger ($9.50) are sure to take plenty from tomorrow's run.
Franco Nelson's manners are generally great, giving Dunn the option of putting him into the race then taking cover. "The key is to step quick again, and try and get in front a few of them from the get-go," he said.
A bone chip was removed from one of Franco Nelson's fetlocks after the Easter Cup and he wonders if that might have made a difference.
"He's a happy and sound horse now, so it might have been bothering him longer than we thought."
Dunn has been putting a steady diet of work into Franco Nelson to prepare for this season, although he wasn't sure what to expect last week.
"He's had a long slow build-up, so he was definitely forward enough," he said. "He trialled well in his first trial for us, then a week later we took him back again and he went very ordinary behind Locharburn.
"So we stepped the work back up to him and it worked the other night."