Racing: Record 205th winner for Dunn

Dexter Dunn. Photo / NZH

The Ashburton track has been a happy hunting ground for Dexter Dunn, who reached a record 205 driving wins for a season there yesterday.

Dunn, 21, bettered his own record of 204 wins set in the 2008-09 season when he drove JB Maguire, his second win for the day. It was fitting that JB Maguire is trained by Cran Dalgety, his employer.

Dunn has driven in 1098 races this season and amassed stakes of $1,722,441. He has a lead of 75 wins in the premiership.

Dunn drove his first New Zealand winner, Crusader Franco at Ashburton in November, 2006. He reached 162 wins for the 2008-9 season at the corresponding meeting two years ago, surpassing the record of 161 set by Maurice McKendry in 1988-89.

The horse was Band On The Run, trained by Dalgety.

Dunn had won the Harness Jewels race for 2-year-olds at Ashburton two days earlier on the Dalgety-trained Smiling Shard. He won the Ashburton Cup on the same horse in December.

Dunn is booked to leave for the United States on July 10.

He hopes to pick up some drives in New York State as a lead-in to the World Driving Championship later next month, when he will represent New Zealand.

"The world championship is on five different tracks and, hopefully, I can get some experience of some of them," Dunn said.

He has American contacts, including Andy McCarthy, who has been driving with success. He is a brother of Luke McCarthy, the driver of Mr Feelgood.

Joshua Dickie completed a memorable weekend for the Dickie family when he won the Australasian Young Drivers Championship at Ashburton yesterday.

His father, Cambridge horseman John, trained the Harness Jewels winners, Paramount Geegee and Flying Isa at the course on Saturday.

Joshua Dickie ended the seven-race series with 69 points, six clear of runner up Matthew Williamson, of Oamaru.

Dickie drove the winner of the two races yesterday - Here Comes Pat, trained by Phil Williamson, father of Matthew, and Wilusi Blues.

Dickie, 20, is in his fourth season as a reinsman although he had only one drive in his first season. He was representing the North Island and has driven 34 winners this season to take his career tally to 70 wins since his first success behind Tuapeka Tiz at Alexandra Park in October, 2008.

Dickie was suspended up to and including June 10 and fined $400 after admitting a charge of excessive use of the whip on Wilusi Blues in the run home in race 10.

The final points' table for the championship: J Dickie (North Island) 69, M Williamson (New Zealand) 63, N. Ford (Tasmania) 53, A. Siejka (New South Wales) 52, J. Prentice (Western Australia) 48, Z . Butcher (New Zealand) 46, D. Dunn (New Zealand) 45, J. Webster (South Australia) 26, C. Turpin (Queensland) 26 and E Tormey (Victoria) 23.