Dissident was narrowly denied a third straight victory at Group 1 level by Trust In A Gust in the 2014 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield on Sunday, but the talented entire could come out of the race with a rating that puts him alongside some of the modern day greats of Australia racing.
Dissident took his rating to new heights when he finished a narrow second behind Trust In A Gust in the 2014 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Dissident gave six kilograms to the majority of his rivals in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes and only lost the event by the bob of the head and Racing Victoria Chief Handicapper Greg Carpenter told Racing Ahead this morning that the son of Sebring may have run to a rating of 123 – the same number achieved by Lankan Rupee in both the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) and Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes (1200m) during his autumn preparation.
“This race is very difficult for me because if you go through a number of horses, either Bull Point, Sweet Idea or Cluster, Dissident has run to ridiculously high numbers,” Carpenter said.
“What I mean by that is that Bull Point has run to 108 a number of times, Dissident gave Bull Point six kilos and beat him by at least a length and three quarters, which means that if Bull Point has run near his 108 than Dissident comes out running to a figure of 123.
“Sweet Idea ran to 111 in her Group win in Sydney and 111 in the Memsie and if you use 111 for her in this race Dissident comes out to 124.
“I don’t want to be held back by Dissident being so high, but whatever we land on then Dissident has run to a very big number in this race and deservedly so.
“He gave some really good 1400 metres horses weight and all but won the race.”
Equine superstar Black Caviar achieved an international rating figure of 132 when she took out the 2011 edition of the Newmarket Handicap and is clearly the highest rated Australian-trained horse in modern racing, but the performance of Dissident in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes puts him just behind two-time Cox Plate winner So You Think and Black Caviar’s great rival Hay List on the list of the highest rated performances by Australian hoses in recent years.
“In the modern era since we have been in the international ratings only horses like Hay List and Black Caviar in the sprint division and So You Think in the middle distance division, who was 126, would be higher,” Carpenter said.
“It put him around the same mark as some of our best sprinters on an international level.
“I have a lot of work to do to discuss these numbers with my domestic colleagues here in Australia and my international colleagues, but if you go through any marker between Bull Point, Sweet Idea, Cluster, Late Charge, Akavoroun and even Atlante, those numbers hold up.
“As always we will be looking for him to replicate that going forward.”
Dissident will have his next race start in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) on October 11 before contesting the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 25 and Carpenter believes that the four-year-old would be very difficult to beat if he is able to replicate a rating of 123 in the Australasian Weight-For-Age Championship.
