News

By Ray Hickson

Imported stayer Sea King has his new trainer Matt Dunn a little bit excited about what the future holds as he makes his stable debut at Randwick on Saturday.

While he’s a six-year-old, Sea King has clearly lived a sheltered life and Dunn was taken aback by his behaviour as he settled into his new surrounds at Murwillumbah.

He’s obviously a talent, he scored a runaway Bendigo Cup win for Harry Eustace back at the end of October and was considered a chance in the Melbourne Cup so Dunn knows he has plenty to work with.

“When he came up there was no plan, no rules, just to see how he is,’’ Dunn said.

“To bring him into the stable and see how he settled in and all he’s done since he’s come to me is put weight on and improve mentally.

“I went to Werribee and watched him work and the young girl who came over with him from England said he was hard work. He shies at witches hats and does things you wouldn’t expect and when he came up here he was the same.

“As time has gone on he’s just picked things up really well. We took him to the beach and he half took off down the beach the first time, it took him one go then he walked straight into the surf.

“Particularly the last two weeks I’m really happy. He was almost like a clean slate when he turned up, I was amazed at how little he knew.”

Sea King was always coming to Murwillumbah once his Victorian campaign was done.

Clients of the Dunn yard bought into Sea King prior to his arrival in Australia so had an instant return when he won at Bendigo and since then a number of people in Dunn’s former stable star Cepheus have joined the ownership.

Dunn said it’s a little unusual to have a horse continue on after contesting the Melbourne Cup, where he ran fourteenth, but Sea King will do just that in the Listed $200,000 Max Brenner Christmas Cup (2400m).

Nash Rawiller travelled to the Gold Coast to ride Sea King in a barrier trial last week and the trainer said his response to the trial surprised him.

“I’m really excited to see what Sea King does,’’ he said.

“If he runs up to his work and runs up to his trial he’ll win. Nash rode him in his trial and I’ve never seen him so happy after riding any horse for me. I think he’s a good judge.

“He’s a talented horse, I’ve tried to sharpen him up and he’s adapted well. His last gallop he worked over 1000m with one of my better sprinters and he sprinted as well as him.

“I’ve never had a horse come in after a Melbourne Cup run so what’s left who knows but he’s put about 23kg on since coming to me.”

How Sea King performs in the Christmas Cup, he was $3.10 with TAB on Wednesday, will tell Dunn what his 2025 campaign will look like.

Meanwhile, we all know Dunn has dominated the Highway ranks over the years and Carribean King will be out to join the long list in the Oran Park Highway (1000m).

He’s had seven starts for the stable and three at Highway level, for two seconds, but will need the breaks to turn the tables on Duke Of Bronte on their clash on November 5.

Carribean King, who has 11 seconds to his name, is 2kg worse off under the set weights conditions and has 1-3/4 lengths to make up on Duke Of Bronte, with Dunn saying a win will come down to needing a 10 out of 10 Nash Rawiller ride.

Sea King's trial at the Gold Coast on December 5

“The big space between runs is the secret with him, that’s what he needs,’’ he said.

“He’s just got to be ridden very well, he needs to hit the front about 18cm from the winning post.

“He has a tendency to get a bit lost and think about where he should be.”