Dexter made a million - and he's just a junior | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

Million dollar kid Dexter Dunn has set up a thrilling finale for the New Zealand harness racing season.

The 18-year-old Canterbury driver has had a sensational year.

He's already sure of the junior driver title with 114 wins from 686 starts - a stunning 56 ahead of the next junior. He's the first junior to earn stakes of more than $1m in a season - with $1.145m so far.

And he could overhaul Peter Ferguson to become the first junior to win the drivers' premiership.

That looked impossible a few weeks ago, but now he's only six behind the Cambridge driver.

"A couple of weeks ago it was not looking likely when I was about 20 behind," said Dunn. "And it's six now."

"There's two months to go and more racing down here, and he's going to have to do a bit of travelling. I'll certainly give it a go - I might not get the chance again."

The son of trainer-driver Robert Dunn who won the 2005 New Zealand Cup with Mainland Banner as trainer, Dunn admits he started his first full season in New Zealand hopeful of just 20 wins.

And just a strapper at last year's Harness Jewels, he thought he'd be rapt to get one drive at the Jewels this year. He got four.

What's been the secret?

"The season just started off really good," he said. "I got a few wins and got the support.

"I'm getting plenty of drives and plenty of support, and Cran's team (trainer Cran Dalgety) is going really good with 48 wins. But sometimes I've got to pinch myself!"

The youngster was destined for a career in racing.

Some of his earliest memories are the excitement around home with Master Musician, and two trips north for the Master's Auckland Cup runs when he was four or five.

At Christchurch Boys' High his interest in horses impinged on study, and he left at the end of the fifth form in 2005.

"It's in the blood and it's always been part of me," he said. "It was racing first and then school. I think I spent more days at the stables than school."

After leaving school Dunn spent 14 months in Australia and started driving there in September 2006. His first race was at Maryborough, Victoria.

"I got beat by a nose and the horse was paying $30! Got beaten by a $1.50 favourite. My first win was about my eighth drive, on a horse called The Ultimate One by five lengths at Geelong."

He came back to New Zealand in March last year.

Dunn has impressed experienced racing folk with his single-mindedness, like the young Mark Jones, as well as his results.

This year he won his first Group One races. The first, a special thrill, was driving his father's four-year-old mare Time To Fly at Addington, and he followed that up with Rona Lorraine in Auckland.

Robert and mother Rose have been a huge help to him with advice, he said.

"Dad's watched all the replays and even if I win, he tells me something I could do different!"

At two meetings he's had four wins in a day - including a quad at Forbury Park followed by three at Addington a night later to slice into Ferguson's premiership lead.

Dunn has been a quick learner from his mistakes ("more drives than not, I could have done something different"), and makes a point of studying the field carefully for every race. He's also full of praise for the tips experienced drivers like Anthony Butt, Ricky May, and Colin De Filippi have given him.

Dunn is keen on all sports, and played junior rep rugby at halfback for Ellesmere and Canterbury Country. Nowadays, though, his spare time goes mainly on sleeping.

"It would be good to have a relaxing time for a week or two and chill out, but I don't know what it's like!" he said.

It mightn't leave him much spare time, but Life with Dexter is a joy for his owners, trainers, and the punters.