$400,000 without a win: Can Belvedere Boys finally get his reward?

Since his last win in 2024, Belvedere Boys has earned almost $400,000 in prizemoney, and some would call three photo-finish seconds unlucky, trainer Matt Dunn prefers frustrating.

The six-year-old gets to the first real target of his winter preparation as a $3.80 favourite for Saturday’s Ipswich Cup.

“When we started this prep, this was a race I looked at and thought you should be right in it,” Dunn said.

“It is hard to say that about him because of his racing style. He just has no speed early and is always going to get back and be the horse finding the line.

“He is certainly up to this level, and those three photos were all a case of his head going up at the wrong time.

“You look at that and think what he might have been, but you need to think about it realistically because he often leaves himself with a lot to do.”

After winning the Country Classic and Shoot Out Quality back-to-back at the end of 2024, Belvedere Boys just failed to run down Encoder, a rival on Saturday, in the Magic Millions Trophy.

He meets Encoder 3.5kg better at the weights for the narrow defeat, but Dunn would prefer another Magic Millions cheque and trophy in the cabinet.

Similarly in the McKell Cup and Port Macquarie Cup, he looked the winner crossing the line before the print proved differently.

“I have thought he has won a couple of times and that can be hard to swallow,” Dunn said.

“He has no problem with the trip, but he needs speed on, so he get home at the end.

“That usually happens in this race, but if it’s hard to make ground we might know our fate before the race.”

As he has stepped out in trip this campaign, Belvedere Boys has got better, being a length runner-up to Middle Earth and beating home subsequent Q22 winner Royal Supremacy in the Chairmans Handicap at Doomben, before going to Sydney to be only three-quarters of a length from Portland in the Lord Mayor’s Cup at Rosehill.

“He is racing at his best, and it would be good to see him rewarded with a win,” said Dunn, who also takes She’s Exotic to Ipswich for the Gai Waterhouse Classic on Saturday.

He was pleased to see the winner of seven of 12 gain a start after being the first emergency for the Listed race.

“I’m sure she is up to this class and it is the right time to try and get some black type with her,” Dunn said. “She is another that gets back, but I think the pressure of stepping up in grade will really help her and she has got a huge finish.”