Australian Horse of the Year and five-time Group 1 winner Dissident has been secured by Dr Kevin Pendergast to continue his stallion career at Riverdene Stud in the Riverina region of NSW.
One of the leading 2-, 3- and 4-year-old performers of the past decade, Dissident commenced his racing career as a Listed MRC Blue Diamond Preview winning juvenile and proceeded to win at Group 1 level in his Classic season as well as an older horse — and on no fewer than four occasions during his third and final season in racetrack competition.
The Randwick Guineas (G1) winner and Golden Rose (G1) runner-up of his 3YO generation, Dissident took all before him as a 4-year-old, claiming the All Aged Stakes (G1), VRC Makybe Diva Stakes (G1), MRC CF Orr Stakes (G1) and Memsie Stakes (G1) over 1400m-1600m.
Dissident’s 4-year-old feats saw him decorated as the Horse of the Year, as well as the Champion Sprinter & Older Horse in Australia, and gain a peak World Thoroughbred Ranking of 121.
Dissident was subsequently retired to Newgate Farm as the most accomplished son of Golden Slipper winner Sebring, the Champion 2YO Colt of 2007/08 himself being the standout domestically-raced son of the worldwide stud phenomenon More Than Ready (USA).
In unison with his racing career, Dissident is siring early coming 2-year-old winners only getting better with age.
His star performer to date, Yes Baby Yes was a juvenile winner in season 2019/20 before a current 3-year-old campaign which has witnessed the filly land both the Moonee Valley Fillies Classic (G2) in the spring and the MRC Angus Armanasco Stakes (G2) this autumn.
Similarly, first-crop runner Pancho saluted in Melbourne metropolitan company as a 2-year-old, before winning the VRC TCL TV Stakes (LR) at three and then the Kilmore Cup (LR) this season as a 4-year-old. The gelding’s current earnings sit at $564,000 after 23 starts.
Other black-type progeny by Dissident include the ATC Flight Stakes (G1) placegetter Foxborough, the ATC Ming Dynasty Handicap (G3) placed Reformist, and the dual Listed runner-up Aidensfield.
So far this season, Dissident is the sire of 55 winners of $2.8 million in progeny earnings in 2020/21 alone and had a metropolitan winner at Canterbury on Wednmesday in Rules Don't Apply.
Significantly, Dissident’s accomplishments as a sire have been achieved by around one-third of the foals he produced during his first five stud seasons, with another wave of racing age offspring still to hit the racetrack.
Dissident is to stand at a fee of $6600 (inc GST) — payable on live foal terms — in his first season at Riverdene Stud.
