Dexter, accompanied by his parents Rose and Robert, was a promotional draw card with the livewire and appreciative Auckland club and Harness Racing New Zealand combining forces to capitalize on the cult type admiration of a young man that has re-written the record books.

His fans gathered for autographs of 200 Club hats and the young idol endeared himself to all in his true blue professional manner that has marked his career from the outset.

It has been said of Dexter Dunn that he has been as impressive off the track as he has been on it. He has been well managed to project the image of a consummate professional.

His parents and employer Cran Dalgety can rightly take a bow on a job well done.

Only he, it seems, is capable of bettering his huge tally of 204 wins, 138 seconds, 119 thirds and stakes of $1,947,928.

Dexter did not have to drive tonight as he already had 203 wins, three more than he had set out to do, but his presence certainly added a touch of glamour to the last night of the 2008-2009 season that will go down in the history books as belonging to him.

From whatever angle the season could be viewed, the miraculous 19 year old from Canterbury provided the star turn against stern opposition, in the process carving an indelible niche in harness racing annals..

He even headed off freakish racehorses Auckland Reactor and Mr Feelgood and horsemen Tony Herlihy, the top trainer and driver at Alexandra Park with tallies of 41 (Roy Purdon Cup) and 51 (Peter Wolfenden Cup) this season.

He also overshadowed Steven Reid and Graeme Rogerson who amazingly have put together 69 training wins after first meeting each other only as recently as last November.

Dunn also upstaged outstanding premiership winning trainers Mark Purdon and Grant Payne of Rolleston, who were unchallenged with 115 successes, 80 seconds and 63 thirds for a remarkable stakes tally of $3,414,218 at the top of their premiership.

It is enough to make the mind boggle when reflecting on the fact that the leading driver and the leading co trainers won a staggering $5, 362,146 between them to underline the money that can be won by the best when the country is supposedly gripped in an economic recession.

It was somewhat fitting that a Southlander Tony Barron provided Dexter with his last win of the season. with his Live Or Die gelding. 

Barron, a son of well known Makarewa (near Invercargill) trainer and administrator Ron Barron and a brother of outstanding horsemen Clark and Ken Barron, also trained Falcon's Medley to score handsomely for competent young northern driver Matthew White.

It can be a long trip home from Auckland to Southland but tonight's deserved brace of wins will surely shorten the trek for Barron whose team have won more than $40,000 on a northern stint.

As long as the progressive Auckland club can hold or extend stakes, it is an odds on bet that more trainers from the Mainland will head north in search of riches.

Club president Rod Croon tonight issued Trackside viewers with an assurance that stakes would not decrease, rather they could increase at Alexandra Park.

The bigger stakes, he said, had added considerably to the number of acceptors for late season Auckland fixtures.

Results from the Auckland Trotting Club's meeting tonight at Alexandra Park (Friday, July 31) - the last day of the 2008-2009 New Zealand harness racing season - were:

Race 1: The Geoff Small trained Perfect Cullen (Christian Cullen) Philip Butcher.

Race 2: The Dave Gibbons trained The Wicket Maiden (Britewell) Todd Mitchell.

Race 3: The Tony Herlihy trained Queen Of Heaven (Washington VC) Joshua Dickie.

Race 4: The Tony Barron trained Falcon's Medley (Falcon Seelster) Matthew White.

Race 5: The Tony Barron trained Winnies Central (Live Or Die) Dexter Dunn.

Race 6: The Dave and Clare McGowan trained Arma Fake (Fake Left) Nicole Molander.

Race 7: The Errol Downey trained Sanchipola (Pine Chip) Roydon Downey.

Race 8: The George Stewart trained Angsana (Pacific Rocket) Philip Butcher.

Race 9: The Geoff Small trained Matai Mies (Elsu) Philip Butcher.

Race 10: The Steven Reid and Graeme Rogerson trained Gotta Go Under Fire (Courage Under Fire) Steven Reid.

Extensive results.

Don WRIGHT