Dissident Fires Back to Win C.F. Orr
Description:
Dissident entered the C. F. Orr Stakes as the horse to beat and emerged from Australia's first top-level race of the season Feb. 14 at Caulfield with his fourth group I triumph.
Close to the pace throughout, Dissident ran down longtime leader Entirely Platinum for a 1 1/2-length triumph under Ben Melham. Entirely Platinum stayed on for second, a long neck in front of Mourinho, the third-place finisher in the 15-horse field.
Stakes winner Java sprinted up to take the early lead, pursued by group III winner Entirely Platinum, Dissident, and multiple group winner Mourinho, while the rest of the field made little headway.
Turning in the stretch, Entirely Platinum and Mourinho drew away, but when Melham gave Dissident his wake-up call, he lengthened stride to get the clear win.
Dissident came in off a third Jan. 24 in the Jeep Australia Stakes (Aus-II) at Moonee Valley. The race was won by Mourinho, who proved no match Saturday.
A 4-year-old son of Sebring, Dissident covered 1,400 meters (about seven furlongs) in 1:23.38 on turf rated as good and returned $2.80 for the victory. His win was the fifth in the race for trainer Peter Moody, who previously landed the C. F. Orr with Moment Of Change last season, Black Caviar in 2012, and Typhoon Tracy in 2010 and 2011.
Dissident has six wins and seven placings from 19 career starts for a large syndicate. He record includes group I wins last year in the Royal Randwick Guineas, New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes, and Makybe Diva Stakes, the latter two in back-to-back starts.
Bred by Widden Stud Australia, Dissident is out of the stakes-placed Anabaa mare Diana's Secret. Moody bought the colt for $210,000 ($216,762 in United States funds) out of the Widden Stud consignment at the 2012 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale.