'We wanted a Melbourne Cup horse': what Sir Delius is becoming instead

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

On Saturday, Sir Delius (GB) (Frankel {GB}) brought an end to the unbeaten Autumn Glow’s (The Autumn Sun) winning streak when he captured the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, executing a plan carefully laid by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott to have the 5-year-old entire peak in “the one that counted” this autumn.

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It counts in more ways than one; it cements a third Group 1 win in Australia for Sir Delius, who is building the kind of resume that will turn heads when he retires to stud.

Not that retirement is soon on the agenda - but the longer Sir Delius spends in Australia, the more his connections can see him developing into a stallion who could help shape the breed.

“We thought we wanted to explore another angle by bringing in a good son of Frankel (GB) or Dubawi (Ire) - the kind of horse we don’t have as much access to here,” said Steve O’Connor, Go Bloodstock’s director.

That point sits at the centre of Sir Delius’s appeal. Because while the Australian stallion market continues to be driven by speed and early return, there is limited access to proven, high-class middle-distance profiles - particularly elite sons of stallions like Frankel (GB) with international form.

A Cup prospect

Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock were the cosigners for Sir Delius at the 2024 Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale with De Burgh Equine, Waterhouse and Bott Racing, and McKeever Bloodstock, outlaying 1.3 million gns (AU$2.6 million) for the then-3-year-old colt. Then called just Delius, he was offered by Coolmore who purchased him as a weanling for 675,000 gns (AU$1.35 million).

It is no small price to pay for a stallion prospect, but that was not even the thought that was most front of mind to the purchasers at the time.

“What Sir Owen wanted to buy was a Melbourne Cup horse,” said O’Connor. “The first horse he ever had shares in was Second Coming, who ran third in the Cup, and ever since then, that is the race that he has chased and wanted to win the most.”

A seven-figure earner in the late nineties, Second Coming (NZ) (Oak Ridge {Fr}) was a G1 Victoria Derby winner and ran in three G1 Melbourne Cups. He beat only one horse home in 1998, but the following year, he was seventh by a touch over three lengths behind Rogan Josh (Old Spice), and at the turn of the century, he was third behind Brew (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}).

Oak Ridge’s (Fr) offspring won 12 different Cups on either side of the Tasman, but Second Coming was his best performer in the one that stops the nation. It is not hard to recognise the success of European horses - and European blood - in that race.

“Sir Owen could see the success that European horses have had down here, so we went looking,” said O'Connor.

“First and foremost, he was a Cup prospect,” said Bott. “Sir Owen was on somewhat of a mission for the right horse. It takes a very high class horse to win it. It might be a two mile event, so a horse needs to be able to stay, but I still believe that you need an element of speed to really succeed in it. Sir Delius profiled as the right kind of horse.”

Sir Delius won his first three starts in France, breaking his maiden over 2100 metres before winning the G3 Prix Du Lys at Chantilly and following it up with a third in the G1 Grand Prix De Paris at Longchamp. He ran afoul of Grand Prix winner Sosie (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) again in the G2 Prix Niel before finishing midfield in the G1 l'Arc De Triomphe.

“He had the elements to suggest he could stay the trip, but he also had the class and speed to be effective across a lot of the top races in Australia,” Bott said. “The prizemoney you can win in Australia, if you target the right races, can make it a worthwhile investment to spend that amount on a horse like him.”

One of three stakes winners for his dam, from the family of USA Champion Turf Female Uni (USA) (More Than Ready {USA}), the seven-figure purchase price makes a lot of sense.

Residual value

What is becoming increasingly apparent is that Sir Delius could ultimately deliver the greatest return not on the track, but at stud.

That was not the primary driver at purchase, but it was not ignored either — and with each run in Australia, his profile in that regard continues to strengthen.

“Sir Owen also wanted something that could become a good stallion,” O’Connor said. “We purchased two horses that year and we had in the back of our mind that, hopefully, we could have one that develops into a stallion prospect as well.

There are only four Frankel (GB) sons active in Australia, including Swettenham Stud’s new recruit Diego Velazquez (Ire) who will stand his first season in the Southern Hemisphere in 2026. Sir Delius has already filled out one of the strongest resumes amongst the group, and is unique in having one of the most desired elements in his repertoire; Australian form.

Something that has helped immensely is the horse’s temperament, which has made it an easy decision for the stable to continue caring for him as an entire.

“He has the most fantastic temperament since arriving,” Bott said. “He has amazing tenacity in his races, but he has a lovely nature the rest of the time. He’s also nicely built physically with beautiful balance. So there has been a lot of things that suggest he didn't need gelding at any stage.”

“He is very exciting going forward,” O’Connor said. “One of the things I would like to see him achieve is to be the Frankel son with the most Group 1 wins. He is already in quite elite company. If he can have the spring we hope for him to have this year, we think he could achieve that.”

Sir Delius is hot on the heels of Frankel’s most decorated son Cracksman (GB), who has four elite level wins. It’s a very short gap to close.

The autumn reset

In seven starts since moving down under, Sir Delius has never finished further back than third. The 5-year-old entire loomed large over the spring with wins in the G1 Underwood Stakes and the G1 Turnbull Stakes, defeating Horse Of The Year Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock) in the latter, before the mandatory veterinary scans ahead of his proposed Melbourne Cup tilt deemed him high risk to proceed.

“We were very focused on the Cox Plate and the Cup, and the news took us back a bit,” O’Connor said. “We weren’t sure for a while how it would play out. Would he come back as good as he was?”

It was a huge disappointment to more than just his connections, but the horse’s welfare was prioritised and he was sent to the paddock, subject to mandatory scans upon his resumption. He passed with flying colours - proof that the break had done him good.

“What we were able to see at the start of the autumn preparation gave us the confidence to be able to push on with him, and led to him being reinstated to race,” Bott said. “We could then look ahead to the Queen Elizabeth and set that as the target we wanted him to peak in.”

Reloading for an autumn campaign, Sir Delius ran third placings in the G1 Verry Elleegant Stakes and the G1 Ranvet Stakes ahead of his third top flight win on Saturday.

It is a heady list of horses who have won the Queen Elizabeth; the honour roll includes Via Sistina, fellow Horse Of The Year Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai), More Joyous (NZ) (More Than Ready), and Desert War (Desert King {Ire}). Recent international raiders to claim the race include Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai) and Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), who won back to back editions in 2020 and 2021.

Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) claimed the race on three occasions, while Lonhro and Dundeel (NZ) also stamped their name on the record.

This is “the one that counts”, as Bott put it after the race.

Dundeel - who sired his 10th individual Group 1 winner on Saturday with Idle Flyer’s G1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes victory - also won the Underwood Stakes, as did So You Think (NZ) and Octagonal (NZ). The latter two, who have left an indelible mark on the breed in this country, have had their records bolstered by the race that remains firmly on Sir Delius’s agenda for the spring; the G1 Cox Plate.

“I imagine in the spring that we will build him up race by race, much as we have this autumn, out to the Cox Plate,” O’Connor said. “These are the races that move the needle. These are the races that we want to peak in, especially with a stallion prospect.”

There is also the call to take him overseas, if the right races arise. Glenn and Craig Williams combined before to win the Queen Elizabeth in 2015 with Criterion (NZ), who ran third in a Melbourne Cup in between travelling to Hong Kong and Royal Ascot. While subfertility cut Criterion’s stud career short, O’Connor can see a blueprint for Sir Delius’s racetrack career if he continues in the right form.

“Sir Owen’s business is global, and he has relationships and contacts all over the world,” he said. “He's always loved the idea of traveling his horses. If we aren’t going to a Melbourne Cup this year, then the Japan Cup or even Hong Kong in December might suit him well.”

“Those international races can add to his residual value as well,” said Bott. “If he is able to achieve what we believe he can, there are some very nice races to give serious consideration to.”

“These are all things to be discussed with the ownership group,” O’Connor added. “What’s best for the horse? Where would they like to see him race? We want to continue to enjoy this horse while building his profile, and it’s great to have so many options available to him.”

The opportunity to succeed

What Sir Delius also has going for himself is an ownership group prepared to back him all the way.

“There will not be much equity in him for a stallion farm to buy,” said O’Connor. “Obviously Sir Owen owns a large chunk of him, and many of his owners are breeders who are keen to stay in and support him. It’s more of a decision of when to put him to stud, as opposed to if he will go at this point.”

The question of who will stand him has yet to be answered, but there has been informal interest from several parties. Who secures the rights to stand him will rest on who sees the same potential in the horse as his ownership.

“I think he really has something different to offer,” O’Connor said. “There is a reason why people are drawn to stallions who sire Golden Slipper winners and the like, but I think what Sir Delius has is different from the typical stallion advertised each year. You see it once every few years, a horse like Anamoe, who has truly elite form over distance.

“Sir Owen had one before in Criterion, but he never got the chance to prove himself due to his fertility. We really believe that we could turn this one into a champion if we get it right.”

Glenn’s formidable broodmare band will be utilised to set him on the journey to reach that pinnacle.

“He’s a complete outcross to most of our mares, and we have some very fast families, such as Lady Of Camelot’s family,” O’Connor said. “He is fortunate that Sir Owen has the mares to support him from the start. Horses like him can take a bit of time to get off the ground commercially, but also, in my point of view, he is not an out and out stayer. He has speed, he has been very competitive over the mile.

“I think he is going to be a very potent mix for our mares. And if it all clicked and we got it right, he could be a wonderful stallion for Australia. I feel he could get you 2-year-olds, three and 4-year-olds, particularly with our speed mares. Hopefully, in 12 - or even 24 - months’ time, he has continued winning and everyone is as excited about him as us.”