Aaron Dunn might still be waiting for Bondi Lockdown’s spot to emerge in the Miracle Mile, but can already start planning a Queensland raid with an invite forthcoming for The Rising Sun during the middle of the year.
The Horsham trainer-driver’s star pacer was confirmed on Wednesday as the first horse invited into the $300,000 feature, which will be held at Albion Park on July 9.
The race, run for the first time in 2021, is the Southern Hemisphere’s richest for three and four-year-old pacers and forms part of the TAB Queensland Constellations carnival.
Bondi Lockdown’s call-up follows his brave second in the weekend’s Chariots of Fire at Menangle behind fellow Victorian Better Eclipse, with the field clocking a sizzling mile rate of 1:47.6min.
“We’re honoured to receive this invite into The Rising Sun, and see it as a feather in the cap for the reputation that Bondi Lockdown is building at the moment,” Dunn told racingqueensland.com.au.
“We love being able to get up to Queensland throughout the winter, and it’s clear that the Constellations is becoming a very attractive proposition for trainers across the country.
“Without knowing the quality of the field at this stage, going off his current form then I think we’ll be right in the finish and we can’t wait for July to roll around.”
Bondi Lockdown is a three-time Group 1 winner, with his career record standing at 13 victories from 28 starts for more than $300,000 in prizemoney.
The inaugural The Rising Sun was won by Nathan Purdon-trained Amazing Dream, who has recently moved overseas to continue her racing in the USA.
