Now that whiz-kid driver Dexter Dunn has topped his own single-season win record, he can set his sights on battling the world's top drivers next month
. But before he takes part in the World Driving Championship, he'll get a feel for North American harness racing thanks to a few of his former countrymen.
Over the weekend, Dunn, 21, beat the New Zealand record for the number of wins in a season at Ashburton. He went into the day on 203 wins, just one behind his previous of 204, which he set two years ago.
"When I first set the record two seasons ago I never thought I would get a chance to break 200 wins again, so this is amazing," Dunn said.
"I consider myself very lucky in the fact that I get to drive some great horses for great trainers and without that sort of support I would never get anywhere near what I have. It's a relief to have got there though because I can now just relax a bit and carry on as normal without the pressure."
Dunn's two winners yesterday came from the stable of his biggest supporter, Cran Dalgety.
At the same meeting two years go Dunn broke the number of wins for a season by a harness driver when Band On The Run won and his favourite horse, Smiling Shard, gave him his 200th winner in the same season. Both horses came from Dalgety's stable.
"Cran has been amazing, I can't really say enough about what he has done for my career and it's great that I get to enjoy these moments on horses from his stable."
Having had close to 1,100 drives this season Dunn is producing one winner in five drives and his earnings for the season exceed $1.7 million. Drivers bank a 5 per cent cut plus about $51 after tax for a losing drive.
With the record out of the way, Dunn is now focusing on setting a new mark before he departs to the United States on July 10. Before the WDC, he will first spend some time acclimatising to the different styles of racing thanks to some support from a few well-known trainers.
"I head over there and will spend a bit of time driving before the series starts, Nifty Norman and a few of the other trainers including Kelvin Harrison are pretty keen to help me out. It's going to be an incredible experience and I can't wait to get over there and get into it."
(with files from The Press)