Dunn excited US trip finally happening
CHAMPION reinsman Dexter Dunn is set to help make America great again.
He is just days away from flying to New Jersey where he will base himself for two months.
Dunn can pack his bags now that he has been granted a working visa after his application was initially declined in June.
United States authorities needed to clarify which of the 35 temporary visa categories under which Dunn would be allowed into the country.
That meant the reinsman had to reapply, which set his trip back around six weeks.
That has cost the Dunn the chance to build up a base of support before North America’s biggest autumn races.
Dunn is putting it behind him and heads to the US excited about his twomonth sabbatical.
‘‘It has been a pretty exciting time, then obviously a delay.
‘‘ It is good to finally get it and get some warm weather and some good racing.
‘‘I am only going for a couple of months. I probably won’t be able to get a whole heap achieved in that time, but it will be exciting to be up there.’’
Dunn will pair with a good family friend, expat Kiwi trainer Chris Ryder, when he gets to New Jersey.
Ryder is a successful trainer with a relatively small stable.
That means Dunn will need to get to work picking up drives and making contacts as soon as he arrives.
‘‘Chris Ryder is going to help me out, obviously in his barn out of New Jersey and give me a kickstart I guess. Then hopefully I will pick up some other drives.’’
That should not be too difficult if trainers are able to remember his previous American stint.
Dunn picked up seven bookings and scored a winner in his first drive on American soil during a successful introduction to North America in 2011.
He went on to finish fourth in the World Driving Championship, a title he won in 2015, on the same trip.
Dunn drove seven winners and 24 placegetters during his first North American stint. He drove two winners and seven placegetters when returning last year. Dunn goes to the States at a time when the stocks of expat New Zealanders are on a high. Kiwibred pacer Shartin is the leading money earner in the US this season and Lazarus looks set to make a remarkable impression on the US and Canadian racing scene.
Dunn’s former drive, Bit Of A Legend, has continued his brilliant northern hemisphere form and is the seventhhighest money earner in the US this season.
Dunn is set to leave after this week’s racing.
❛ I probably won’t be able to get a whole heap achieved in that time, but it will be exciting to be up there