Having arrived in the Top End a fortnight ago, Kyneton trainer Neil Dyer is preparing for yet another Darwin Cup Carnival campaign.
Dyer, who made his first trip north in 2008 and only missed the 2020 carnival because of COVID, has won plenty of feature races, including three Darwin Cups with Hawks Bay (2011, 2012) and Royal Request (2017).
He boasts 100 wins in Darwin and is eyeing further success at the 2024 carnival, comprising eight meetings between July 6 and August 5.
“It’s still a long trip to Darwin, it’s fatiguing,” Dyer said.
“We’ve got 20 horses here, we let them recover before they started work.
“Six left Mornington with Darwin Horse Transport and they also picked up another two in Alice Springs.
“We didn’t have any runners on May 25, but we’ll hopefully have three on Saturday.”
Dyer has nominated five-year-old gelding Hallowed Ground, four-year-old mare Roulette Queen, and six-year-old gelding Oliver Bullet for the Darwin meeting on June 8.
There are nine Saturday meetings at Fannie Bay from now until the end of the carnival, punctuated by two Wednesday cards in July and Darwin Cup Day on the first Monday in August.
Looking ahead, Dyer is eyeing the Darwin Cup (2050m) with Hettinger, the Palmerston Sprint (1200m) with Hallowed Ground and Grand Pope, and the NT Derby (2050m) with Unquestionably.
Hettinger, fourth in the Alice Springs Cup (2000m) in April, had two wins and two seconds from six Darwin starts last year before winning the Katherine Cup (1600m) by 7.5 lengths.
“I think the Alice Springs Cup was a learning curve for Hettinger,” Dyer said.
“We’ve got to ride him more conservatively, probably take a sit closer to the lead with cover.
“Running out 2000m is no issue, he only got beaten 3.4 lengths after trying to do it like Might And Power out in front.
“Hallowed Ground, a big powerhouse, holds the 1100m track record on the Ballarat synthetic and Grand Pope has won down the Flemington straight over 1200m.
“We bought Unquestionably, who was the highest-priced yearling when Ciaron Maher purchased him for $1.7 million at the 2023 Gold Coast Magic Millions Sale.
“He’s by Not A Single Doubt and it became obvious pretty quickly that he wasn’t going to be a stallion proposition, so they gelded him.
“He ran third in a $60,000 maiden (1500m) at Kembla Grange first-up before winning a 1900m Gosford maiden next start.
“They put him online for sale after he failed in the Cranbourne Classic (2025m), and we bought him.”
Dyer admitted he was going to be more cautious during June to ensure his horses are cherry ripe for the Darwin Cup Carnival.
“I find that when horses have leg problems here, it usually happens early during carnival,” he said.
“They’re adjusting to the dirt surface, so you’ve got to be careful.
“I’ve lost a few with serious breakdowns, including Mulk, who won three in a row here in 2019.”
Dyer also confirmed that relocating to Darwin was his long-term objective, but not until he sells his Kyneton farm and stables.
Horse racing news
