A winning treble at Sandown on Wednesday promises to be a boost for jockey Dwayne Dunn's spring carnival ambitions.

Dunn spent four months on the sidelines from December after bulging three discs in his neck.

He has been managing his race-riding workload since a return to the saddle during the off-season but with spring on the doorstep, the high-profile rider said he would have to ramp things up.

"This week is pretty busy for me,' Dunn said after bringing up his treble at Sandown.

"I'm riding today, tomorrow, Friday jump-outs, then on Saturday and Sunday.

"This is a crucial week for me, really.

"If I can get through this it will be a big help. It's not going to get any easier now into the spring.

"Now I'm going to up the ante and we'll see whether I can stand up to it or not."

Dunn opened the Sandown meeting with victory on Turquoise King for the Hawkes Racing team before adding victories on pick-up ride Mr Andre and then the Robert Smerdon-trained Celeritas.

"I've been just around the fringes lately so I needed to do something," Dunn said.

"It's a good time to show that I'm form."