A handsome bay with a white star, Sir Dapper was the best two year-old of his
generation and engaged in some stirring battles with the champion mare
Emancipation as a three year-old that had racegoers divided.I admired the mare, how could you not, but I was always in his camp, there was something very likable about his ultra-professional, no fuss way of doing things.
He gave his best every start and retired with 13 wins and four seconds from 18 starts, his lone run out of the placings a brave fifth in the Cox Plate to another of my favourites in Strawberry Road.
Such was my admiration for Sir Dapper that when I turned 18 and was old enough to move away from home and try my hand at strapping and riding work at a city racing stable, I chose to go to Les Bridge.
Sir Dapper had long gone to stud by the time I started work at what had then become Sir Dapper Lodge, but I've always held a fascination for him which is why the following email from Victorian based owner breeders John and Louise Sutherland caught my interest.
John and Louise write- I have been meaning to write to you for a number of years regarding our two Sir Dapper geldings. My wife and I bred the full brothers who are aged 20 and 19 years neither raced due to injuries they suffered in training.
Their mother Miss Dart went to Sir Dapper when he was standing at Wyndholm Park near Ballarat.
My wife and I still ride the boys as pleasure hacks most weeks of the year in the Watigan State Forest and occasionally at Anna Bay for a beach ride. They are both very sound and often we ride for 3 to 4 hours each week.
As we are both in our mid-sixties and still enjoying riding we have every intention of continuing to ride our boys for the foreseeable future.
I thought you may be interested in our story as Sir Dapper was a super star in his day and many of your older followers would love to know he still has active horses alive.
My wife's horse (chestnut) has thrown to his grand sire Vain and my horse (bay)
is a dead spit of his dad.
We are small breeders who race our homebreds and over the years our retired and slow horses have found homes as showhorses, hacks and nanny mares.
We have continued our association with Kim and Liz McKellar at Wyndholm Park and have a three year old filly in work and a lovely two year old colt by Rebel Raider.
Footnote : Foaled in 1980, Sir Dapper won the 1983 Golden Slipper and died in 1999. His racetrack success was sadly not quite replicated in his stud career, although he did find lasting fame as the sire of the dam of six time Group I winner and leading sire Testa Rossa.
We are small breeders who race our homebreds and over the years our retired and slow horses have found homes as showhorses, hacks and nanny mares.
We have continued our association with Kim and Liz McKellar at Wyndholm Park and have a three year old filly in work and a lovely two year old colt by Rebel Raider.
Footnote : Foaled in 1980, Sir Dapper won the 1983 Golden Slipper and died in 1999. His racetrack success was sadly not quite replicated in his stud career, although he did find lasting fame as the sire of the dam of six time Group I winner and leading sire Testa Rossa.
