By Michael Guerin
Driver John Dunn loves the new Mighty Looee but he is just worried about how much further he can go.
Because this new 2023 iron horse version of the son of Sweet Lou is getting awfully close to serious open class and his new tactics may not wash in the big league.
Mighty Looee made it three wins on end in 2023 when he again led and blazed some sensational times at Addington on Friday night, his 53.9 last 800m and 26.1 final 400m about as fast as they go.
That came after his 1:52 mile at his previous start at Nelson with Mighty Looee seems to enjoy being driven hard at the front end of the field whereas early in his career he was best known as a sit and sprint horse.
“We always thought he was a speed horse but we had to drive him cold because he used to pull too hard,” explains Dunn.
“So he went to Luke and Belinda (McCarthy) in Sydney because we thought he would suit going hard at Menangle because it would mean he couldn’t pull.
“But he never really adapted over there. So since we have brought him back we have just let him run and he loves it.
“He was great both days at Nelson and while he had an easy enough time in the middle stages last night (Friday) he still had to fight really hard.”
Mighty Looee has now won 12 races and won’t be able to dodge the really serious open class horses forever and that is when he will need to be able to better control his energy output, because the Self Assureds and Copy Thats of the world will follow any speed and peel off his back.
“He will need to keep improving to be competitive with them but not many horses are and he is good enough to race and beat that next level just below them as this win showed.”
The 2023 season has started well for Team Dunn even if patriarch Robert is still recovering from a trackwork accident suffered two weeks ago, with doctors yet to decide whether they will operate to pin his broken elbow.
Sundees Son is back in work and only a month away from the trials as he gets ready for the NZ Trotting Champs, with his arch rival Muscle Mountain enjoying some easy kills while he is away.
The big fella led and trotted his last 800m in 55.6 seconds to hold out a flying Oscar Bonavena in the Summer Cup on Friday night, reaffirming what a shame he wasn’t at Melton for the Great Southern Star won by Just Believe.
