Retirement beckons for gritty stayer Maluckyday but a close relation may have arrived to follow in his footsteps.

Dwayne Dunn (pictured) rode Darciwood to a big debut win today. Photo by: Taron Clarke.

Darciwood, a half-brother to the 2010 Melbourne Cup runner-up through dam Natalie Wood, was sent out an odds-on favourite in a 1200m Geelong maiden and didn’t disappoint.

The three-year-old gelding was ridden just off the pace by Dwayne Dunn before making his move approaching the home turn.

From that moment there only ever looked to be one winner as the son of Darci Brahma scored by five lengths from Wellingtons and Nice And Brief.

Like Maluckyday, Darciwood is trained by team Hawkes who were quick to share their delight on twitter.

“Darciwood wins exceptionally well first start ever. Track Record. Super ride D Dunn. Congrats to owners,” the official Hawkes Racing twitter account said.

It was an incredible start to the day for Team Hawkes and Dunn who combined for two wins and a third from the opening three races.