The Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained Sir Dragonet was excellent on the quick back-up to outclass his rivals late and win the 2021 Tancred Stakes ahead of a next-up run in the $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Sir Dragonet is into the Queen Elizabeth Stakes after a big win in the 2021 Tancred Stakes by last year’s Cox Plate champion. Photo: Steve Hart.
It was the first victory for the Camelot entire since his Ladbrokes Cox Plate triumph last October, but the now five-year-old was back to his best form fourth-up in the Group 1 $1.5 million Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill in Sydney.
Sir Dragonet relished the inside draw with Glen Boss giving the star a beautiful ride three-back the fence around fourth in the run as Spirit Ridge led the Tancred field around over the 2400m.
The field bunched tightly around the home corner and all eyes were soon on Sir Dragonet who was running on very well having coasted all the way from the advantageous gate on a firm track.
The favourite hit the front 250m out and raced well clear in a runaway performance to improve on his fourth behind champion mare Verry Elleegant in last Saturday’s Group 1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) at the same track.
In a massive performance really stepping up for a Group 1 second was the Bjorn Baker-trained She’s Ideel in her fourth straight top three performance this preparation.
Rounding out the Tancred Stakes trifecta in a nice trial for the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) was Danny O’Brien’s former VRC Oaks winner Miami Bound.
The Tancred Stakes results saw Maher celebrate his 17th Group 1 victory and seventh in partnership with Eustace, while Boss is now a 90-time Group 1 winning jockey.
“It’s good to get him back to his best form,” co-trainer Maher told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“He put the writing on the wall last week and I guess the back-up was the only little query, but he was super and Glen rode him very confidently.
“He’s taken a fair bit of work…so great to get him back into form.
“He’ll probably head on now to the Queen Elizabeth.”
The Group 1 $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) is the feature event on Day 2 of ‘The Championships’ at Royal Randwick on April 17th.
Last year’s Tancred Stakes winner Verry Elleegant ran second in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes next start and the odds are firming on Sir Dragonet to go one better and complete the double this Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.
The horse has firmed in from $15 to $13 in the all-in Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2021 odds at Ladbrokes.com.au – available in full here.
2021 Tancred Stakes Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | SIR DRAGONET (IRE) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Glen Boss | 1 | 59kg | $5.50F | |||
| 2 | 12 | SHE’S IDEEL | Bjorn Baker | Jason Collett | 2.3L | 10 | 57kg | $13 | ||
| 3 | 14 | MIAMI BOUND (NZ) | Danny O’Brien | Ms Rachel King | 2.7L | 13 | 56.5kg | $51 | ||
| 4 | 13 | TOFFEE TONGUE (NZ) | Chris Waller | Tom Marquand | 2.9L | 2 | 56.5kg | $9 | ||
| 5 | 6 | SPIRIT RIDGE (GB) | Mark Newnham | Robbie Dolan | 3.1L | 6 | 59kg | $14 | ||
| 6 | 11 | MELODY BELLE (NZ) | Jamie Richards | James McDonald | 4.1L | 12 | 57kg | $6 | ||
| 7 | 4 | SOUTHERN (IRE) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Mark Zahra | 4.2L | 9 | 59kg | $26 | ||
| 8 | 9 | ANGEL OF TRUTH | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Kerrin McEvoy | 4.5L | 5 | 59kg | $7 | ||
| 9 | 7 | CHAPADA | Michael Moroney | Tim Clark | 5.8L | 7 | 59kg | $21 | ||
| 10 | 8 | NICKAJACK CAVE (IRE) | Peter G Moody | Luke Nolen | 6L | 11 | 59kg | $16 | ||
| 11 | 3 | THE CHOSEN ONE (NZ) | Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman | Hugh Bowman | 10.1L | 14 | 59kg | $12 | ||
| 12 | 5 | SOUND (GER) | Michael Moroney | Craig Williams | 10.6L | 8 | 59kg | $31 | ||
| 13 | 2 | MIRAGE DANCER (GB) | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Damien Oliver | 11.2L | 4 | 59kg | $10 | ||
| 14 | 10 | SHRAAOH (IRE) | Chris Waller | Brenton Avdulla | 14.4L | 3 | 59kg | $51 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
