It was another case of a good performance but no rewards for Dunstan at Chester on Sunday, as he continues to try to gain that elusive turf win. Unfortunately, with no rain forecast, a one-hour shower over Chester in the morning caused the ground to change from good to good to soft, which wasn’t ideal, but he still put in his usual determined effort to outrun his odds.
Sent off as the 11/1 outsider of the field, jockey William Cox applied similar tactics to his Newbury race previously, holding him up close to the rear of the field next to the rail. He got into a good rhythm and travelled strongly throughout the race, but at a crucial point two furlongs out he was waiting for room, which did cost him. Once in the clear, he did make some good headway, but failed to catch the front three, eventually finishing fourth, just under three lengths behind the winner Cambria Legend. He did finish ahead of the well-fancied Sea Grey however, who had won his two previous races.
Jockey William Cox said after the race:
“He jumped out of the stalls ok, and they’ve gone a good gallop and everything went to plan in the early stages from a tactics perspective. Every bend he kept losing his head on that ground, the inside of the track was really cut up. He still travelled into it ok, but when the pace quickened, he just couldn’t go with them as he was virtually wheel spinning on the ground. I still think he ran very well, but he’ll be seen to much better effect on quicker ground and at a more galloping track.”
The morning after the race, trainer Paul Attwater reported:
“It was another pleasing performance from Dunstan. I’m pleased to say he is absolutely fine today, he’s trotted up sound and has been out on the walker already. In regards to his next race, I’ll sit down with the team to decide whether the best option is to persevere on the turf or to send him back to the all-weather, where we know he performs. ”
It was another case of the ground just going against Dunstan, who would prefer the ground on the quicker side of things. Paul, Charlie and the team will now sit down to discuss whether to keep trying him on turf or to switch him back to the all-weather.
You can view Dunstan’s profile HERE.
