Sir Dragonet a Potent Sire in Waiting

History says, despite the glut of middle-distance prizemoney available, many Australian breeders are loath to embrace stallions with pedigrees and form suggestive of possible dour types. Nonetheless, what has become abundantly clear is that far from being an outlier, the Cox Plate (2040m), a speed duel over ground, is becoming a future stallion’s mecca. Even a cursory glance at the entires that have snared the famous weight-for-age 2040m Moonee Valley race reveal why they are becoming so prized at stud: from the past 15 years there are Savabeel (Zabeel), Shamus Award (Snitzel), Ocean Park (Thorn Park) and So You Think (High Chaparral) who did it twice – all exceptional and all in the 2020-21 Black Type Sires Premiership Sires Top 15. Adelaide (Galileo) has thrown Group 1 winner Funstar, while Octagonal (Zabeel) has sired the winners of $43 million, including world champion miler Lonhro who continues to be one of the most commercial stallions in the country. In fact, the first five are the only stallion prospects to win the race since 2004. That brings us to Sir Dragonet. Not only does he meet the brief by being a Cox Plate winner, he’s also thumped his rivals in the weight-for-age Gr1 Tancred Stakes (2400m). The son of Camelot brings a damline to the table that is beyond repute, one which boasts the glorious female family of half-brothers Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) and Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) on a page where there’s more dense black copy than white space. If he’s anything like those Cox Plate winners who have preceded him, he’ll be a star, but what he also adds is that depth of genuine English and Irish Classic performers as well as a close-up sex-balanced double cross of Sadler’s Wells, and a wild-card variable as his dam is by triple Group 1 sprint winner Oasis Dream (Green Desert). That adds up to Sir Dragonet being potentially one of the most important stallions-in-waiting that Australian breeders can tap into over the coming years.