BRISBANE Jan 31 AAP - Premiership leading trainer Matt Dunn hopes jockey Glen Colless can live up to his new nickname of "Joe Cool" aboard talented The White Hope at Doomben on Saturday.
The pair have combined for five wins with The White Hope who was slightly disappointing at his last start when ninth to Velrosso in the Magic Millions Cup (1400m) on January 11.
Dunn is worried he may have taken the wrong road by accepting with The White Hope in the Class 6 (1200m) after also nominating him for the Open Hcp (1200m).
"I hope I have done the right thing. We want Glen to take a sit on him in this race and then we can see how he goes," Dunn said.
It will be a test for Colless because The White Hope looks the natural leader in the nine-horse field.
But Dunn knows better than most just how good Colless is.
Colless won three Brisbane jockeys' premierships when he was a lethal force with the now retired trainer Alan Bailey.
He is proving equally devastating with Dunn who had a training double at Eagle Farm on Wednesday to take him to 29 winners for the Brisbane premiership, a lead of two-and-a-half over Rob Heathcote.
Dunn is seventh on the Australian trainers list with 57 winners and has a winning strike rate of 22 per cent.
A major part of his success has been his association with Colless who has rarely ridden better.
Colless's nickname since childhood is "Spike", but racetrack regulars have taken to calling him "Joe Cool" as a tribute to his unflappable nature.
A perfect example was his win on Dunn's Giovanna Bella at Eagle Farm on Wednesday as she came from the outside alley of 15 to be third behind the pace on the fence.
"They don't come much better than Glen," Dunn said after the win.
Colless was equally complimentary of Dunn: "You have to have the right horses under you."
Meanwhile, Dunn has been looking to the future at the recent yearling sales.
"I got six nice horses from the recent Magic Millions sales including a Fastnet Rock and a Redoutes Choice. The good thing was I had them syndicated before I left the complex," he said.