First Group One Winner for Sebring

The stakes-winners have been flowing thick and fast for Golden Slipper winner Sebring during the autumn carnival and at Randwick on Saturday he posted a career milestone in producing his first Group I winner when progressive colt Dissident captured the ATC Randwick Guineas over 1600 metres.

A gritty winner of the Group II ATC Hobartville Stakes at his second run back from a spell, the Peter Moody trained Dissident was ridden a positive race by Jim Cassidy to settle in the first three and led the field turning for home.

Challenged strongly by Fastnet Rock colt El Roca, Dissident was headed momentarily, but fought back under hard riding from Jim Cassidy to defeat him by a short head with Northern Meteor colt Eurozone a gallant third.

“It was a marvellous effort, he had a bad alley, I talked to Peter and we decided to ride him the same way (as last start), be positive, I wanted to be up there early, when I ended up in front he travelled beautifully,” Cassidy said.

“He is starting to turn from a boy to a man, he is starting to learn. He loves to fight.

“You don’t win these Group 1s at the 100, you win them at the line, I knew my bloke wasn’t going to lay down, it was a good effort for him to fight back.”

Despite winning a Listed MRC Blue Diamond Preview on debut at two, Peter Moody has always harboured the thought that Dissident would be better over the longer journeys and he will now get a chance to test the theory.

“He is a high quality colt, we saw his efforts in the spring around Zoustar, he was wide and had a hard run in the Golden Rose, just got nutted and probably was over the top when he got to Melbourne,” Moody said.

“He has come back a stronger colt, one of the best of his age in the country.

“We go to the Rosehill Guineas, which is the race I’ve always had earmarked, then it will be decision time whether we go to the Derby or come back to the Doncaster, it was lovely to see him win over the Randwick mile today.

“He deserves it this horse, he has been at the top the whole way through, it is fitting that he now has a feature Group I on his resume.”

Dissident was a $210,000 Magic Millions purchase for his trainer from the Widden Stud draft and runs for a big syndicate of very happy owners including Widden Stud’s Marketing and Nominations Manager Ryan McEvoy.

As the first Group I winner for his young sire Sebring, Dissident looms as a colt with serious stallion potential and has the overall record of three wins and five placings from 11 starts with prizemoney of $911,200.

Bred by Widden Stud and partners, Dissident is the second foal and first stakes-winner for stakes-placed Anabaa (USA) mare Diana’s Secret, who comes from the family of Palace Gossip, Mountebank and Vietnam.

The current yearling from Diana’s Secret is a Northern Meteor filly that will be offered by Widden Stud at Inglis Easter as Lot 408.

Also bred by Widden Stud and partners, Diana’s Secret was one of 222 mares covered last year by Sebring, who featured earlier in the day with a new stakes-winner in Sydney in Believe Yourself, who took out the Group II ATC Sweet Embrace Stakes.

Sebring has 21 entries for Inglis Easter including a full brother to Believe Yourself that will be offered as Lot 163.