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By Ray Hickson

A few doors will open up for Matt Dunn’s talented gelding Belvedere Boys if he can take a step up in distance in his stride at Rosehill on Saturday.

Trainer Matthew Dunn (Pic: Bradley Photos)

The five-year-old has his first distance test in the TAB Country Classic (2000m) and it’s a race Dunn has targeted from the moment he came back into work for the spring.

A Country Championships bid last time in meant Dunn had to wait to find out if he can handle a middle distance but he’s confident, especially in a race restricted to country horses, he’ll come through with flying colours.

“He’s been looking for it for a long time,’’ Dunn said.

“We held him back last prep to shorter races because of the goals we were looking at for him but it was the intention to step up to 2000m this time.

“We’ve thought this was the right race to take him to from the start of his preparation.”

Dunn said if Belvedere Boys does run up to expectation he would look to force his way into the Magic Millions Stayers race in January via one of the exempt races as he wasn’t sold at auction.

The gelding, $2.50 with TAB on Thursday, carried 58kg and 61kg to win his last two Highway races earlier this year, one on soft and one on heavy, and they were split by a third in the Country Championships Northern Wild Card at Scone.

The Murwillumbah trainer said Belvedere Boys showed him with his close up fourth over the mile at Doomben three weeks ago he’s on the right path and would like to take some advantage of an inside barrier.

“He had no luck, didn’t get much space in the straight and (Cody Collis) had to stop him late,’’ he said.

“He probably should have won but he’s in good shape and the wet won’t hurt him either as he gets through it really well.

“There’s no reason to be looking to get a long way back, there’s a tail to this race so we wouldn’t want to be behind most of them.”

Dunn is the leading TAB Highway trainer with 38 wins since the concept was introduced but he said he’s going against his usual methods with Spiritchaser in Saturday’s edition over 1100m.

The mare was formerly trained by John Sargent and has been with Dunn for four starts so far, and what he’s noticed about her is that she’s most effective when fresh so that’s the approach he’s talking.

“Her first runs are normally her best then she slows down from then. That’s what I’ve seen from her,’’ he said.

“The idea was to have the two solid trials then line up in a Highway, I don’t normally take them to Highways first-up but she’s a bit different.

“Her trials have both been strong and her work is fantastic.”

Belvedere Boys runs fourth at Doomben on November 9

Zac Lloyd rides Spiritchaser and Dunn is comfortable with the prospect of a wet track for her and expects she can also take advantage of the barrier.

“She had her first start on a heavy 10 and she ran really well when John Sargent had her so she handles the wet,’’ he said.

“We’ll take advantage of her fresh form and give her a crack nice and early in the prep. She’s pretty quick, I don’t know if we have to necessarily lead but if we did it wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Rosehill meeting