Australia’s leading stud master Paul Westerveld has paid tribute to his homebred superstar sprinter and distinguished sire Fabregas after the 2012 National Sprint champion passed away on Wednesday.

Westerveld revealed Fabregas had succumbed to heart and respiratory problems just weeks shy of his 12^th birthday, after bravely staving off cancer several times.

“We were blessed to have him,” he said.

“Obviously, he was out of my dam-line, I owned him, I bred him with Ian Garland, we reared him and trained him off the property.

“I love all my dogs, but he was one of the special ones.”

“I’d love to have him now, being financially stable, and just race him. I’d hate to think what he could win now!”

A son of the great Bombastic Shiraz and Wicked Witch, Fabregas, which was trained by David Hirst, only started 13 times, with his 12 wins highlighted by the Group 1 National Sprint Championship on a freezing night in Hobart, while he was undefeated in eight appearances at Sandown Park.

That career-defining National Sprint triumph proved to be Fabregas’ final race appearance, as he embarked on a hugely successful stud career as one of the headline acts in Westerveld’s stellar Meticulous Lodge roster.

“At the time I didn’t know whether to retire him,” Westerveld recalled.

“He’d just won a Group 1, he was only 22 months old, and he was getting quicker and quicker.

“I kept trialling him for six or eight weeks after he won the National Sprint Championship, and he was improving lengths.

“At 22 months, he was just starting off and being by Bombastic Shiraz, his progeny only kept getting better with age. It’s frightening to think what the dog might have done if he’d kept racing.

WATCH: FABREGAS (B7) was a brilliant winner of the 2012 G1 National Sprint Championship at Hobart, his 12^th win from 13 starts, after which he was retired to stud.

“At the time, we had two young kids and there was a lot of call for him at stud and having a stud dog was a reliable income, so it was the right decision.

“I’d love to have him now, being financially stable, and just race him. I’d hate to think what he could win now!

“He was a ferocious chaser. He had no fear.

“He had two personalities. At home in the kennels he had a beautiful and placid temperament, but as soon as you put a lead on him, he was 100 miles an hour. He had to be first. I wouldn’t want to get in his way!”

Fabregas’ best offspring included multiple G1 winners Dundee Osprey and No Donuts, record-breaking multiple country cups winner Aston Bolero, Melbourne Cup placegetters Chasin’ Crackers, Kouta Mayhem and She’s Gifted, and Group winners Fabregal, Falcon’s Fury, and Pindari Express.

“He was in the shadow of Fernando Bale and Barcia Bale, but he did a marvellous job off his own bat,” Westerveld said.

“His progeny won $45 million in prizemoney and his legacy will live on because his daughters seem to be doing a fantastic job.”