Lead Story
Cosmic Crusader edges Northerly thriller
Trevor Marshallsea
ANZ News
Cosmic Crusader (Maurice) broke a top-level drought for West Australian breeding legend Bob Peters and became a long-awaited third Australian elite-level winner for his sire in taking Saturday’s Northerly Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) at Ascot.
Ridden by Clint Johnson-Porter, the Michael Grantham-trained five-year-old jumped well from gate nine of 16 and settled midfield one off the fence as a frenetic pace was set by bolter Osipenko (Pierro) and former Peters runner Western Empire (Iffraaj), the field stretched out more than 20 lengths after 800 metres.
Johnston-Porter eased Cosmic Crusader to a three-wide line with cover passing the 800 metres before bringing him out as the widest runner on the turn, six horses off the fence.
Cosmic Crusader exploded to the lead at the 200 metres, only for Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Watch Me Rock (Awesome Rock) to burst from the pack with a fearsome challenge to his outside.
The pair settled in to fight a torrid battle down the home straight, and just as it looked like the latter was about to take the ascendancy, Cosmic Crusader dug in and scored by 0.15 lengths, providing Peters’ private trainer Michael Grantham with his first top-tier success.
Illustrating the top pair’s dominance, Western Empire hung on gamely for third - 4.73 lengths further back.
Previously unbeaten three-year-old King Of Light (Earthlight) didn’t feature as $2.40 favourite under Willie Pike, finishing 14th, while Ciaron Maher’s Vivy Air (Hellbent) - heavily backed into $5.50 second-favouritism, managed only eighth after settling at the rear.
Cosmic Crusader had support as a $6 third-favourite in the $1.5 million feature, with Watch Me Rock at $14 and Western Empire $8.
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In 2021, Peters swept the board of WA’s three elite events, claiming the Railway with Western Empire, the Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) with Graceful Girl (Nicconi), and the Northerly with Regal Power (Pierro).
But those were Peters’ last Group 1 wins, and were the last time his famed cerise with white crossed sashes had placed in Perth’s top-level trio - until the victory from his homebred gelding on Saturday.
The win also made up for Cosmic Crusader missing a start as an emergency in last month’s Railway. However, the fact he beat Watch Me Rock at level weights in Saturday’s weight-for-age feature, having been allocated a kilogram less in the handicap Railway, raised questions about what he might have done that day had he not been an unused emergency.
“It’s really good to see,” Peters said of the win. “Makes you wonder what might have happened in the previous race [the Railway], but still that’s passed and it’s very good to win this race.”
Cosmic Crusader has now won eight of 16 starts and more than $1.2m in prize-money. He’s won four of six this preparation, after requiring a year off due to injury - which Peters feels may have helped turn him into a special horse.
“He had an injury and I gave him 12 months off to get over it, and I think that was the making of him,” Peters told Racing.com. “He was a bit fine before but he developed well and he’s a big strong horse now.”
The two starts this campaign that Cosmic Crusader didn’t win were unlucky thirds in the Asian Beau Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) four starts back and in his subsequent run in the RJ Peters Stakes (Gr 3, 1500m).
Those beaten runs meant he was only an emergency for the Railway. On that day, he instead went into the Carbine Club Stakes (Listed, 1400m), and won by 2.59 lengths at $1.75.
Johnston-Porter was scathing in his self-criticism for both those third placings, suggesting in his post-race comments after the Asian Beau that “the jockey should give up”. He was thus naturally thankful not only that Peters and Grantham stood by him, but elated to have rewarded them with a Northerly title.
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“I thought I was the one getting in his way. I always thought he was a good horse. I was so gutted when he won the Carbine Club. I thought he should’ve won the Railway that day. So for me to get it right today is pretty special,” the jockey said after his second career Group 1 win, the first having been last year’s Railway on Port Lockroy (Better Than Ready).
“It’s always special winning your first Group 1, but with the opportunities I get from Bob and Michael who support me so much, to get the job done is quite special.”
Johnston-Porter, who was also emotional in revealing his grandfather had died on Friday night, paid high praise to Cosmic Crusader for his determination, saying he had heard Watch Me Rock coming to his outside.
“That’s why I carried on so much after the line - he just gritted his teeth,” the 27-year-old said. “I don’t know if it was someone watching over me or what it was, but I just sort of fell down on my legs and he just found something I didn’t know he had.”
Grantham was almost lost for words after his first elite success.
“I never lost belief in him, not one bit,” he said, referring to the horse’s two recent third placings. “Myself and my trackwork riders are very onto little things about him. He pulled up every time from a race and was licking the bin out. I knew there was nothing wrong with him, it was just the luck we had in running.
“When he won last start I thought the drop back in distance [from 1600 metres] to 1400 wasn’t going to be ideal for him. Jumping up to the 1800 today I was still stuck in the middle. But no, I never lost [faith] in him.”
Grantham happily recalled what led to him becoming Peters’ private trainer, after the giant breeder’s split with Grant and Alana Williams - now Watch Me Rock’s trainers - in early 2022.
It came thanks to Grantham’s good friend Liam Peters - Bob’s grandson - though Grantham admitted to copious nerves in the lead-up, given an almost reverential respect for WA’s biggest breeder.
“We were talking on and off. Liam said ‘Stop being a wuss and give the old boy a call. He’s looking [for a trainer]’,” Grantham said.
“I remember sitting in the middle of a paddock in the long grass, kneeling down and making that phonecall to Mr Peters. It was the most scariest phone call I’ve ever had to make. It wasn’t even scary when I hung up because I was the only one stressing about it.”
Cosmic Crusader not only broke a drought for Peters but for Arrowfield shuttler Maurice (Screen Hero). The 14-year-old hit the highs when Hitotsu won three Group 1s in 2021-22 and Mazu added another later in that season, but had not sired another Australian elite-level victor until Cosmic Crusader’s Saturday triumph.
The 14-year-old, currently in his eighth Australian season, has 11 stakes winners here from 223 runners at 4.9 per cent. Worldwide, he has 34 from 898 at 3.7 per cent, including six Group 1 victors.
Cosmic Crusader is the first of five foals to race for Cosmic Storm (Street Sense), who won four Perth stakes events for Peters, capped by the 2016 La Trice Classic (Gr 3, 1800m).
A firm believer in sticking to a mating, Peters has sent Cosmic Storm to Maurice seven times. Her only other cover, just after Cosmic Crusader was born, came from Windsor Park Stud shuttler Charm Spirit (Invincible Spirit), which explains why among Cosmic Storm’s progeny, only Cosmic Crusader comes with an NZ suffix.
Cosmic Crusader missed to Maurice last year, while a filly foal by him died soon after birth in 2024. She’s now in-foal to him again.
Group 1s on the horizon for Caballus
Caballus (I Am Invincible) again underlined Darby Racing’s buying prowess by easily winning his fourth black-type race since the syndicator purchased him in Saturday’s George Moore Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Doomben.
Ridden by Tommy Berry, the five-year-old provided a surprise by going to the lead from his wide gate but after having a comfortable time of it in front he kicked away in the straight to score by 3.02 lengths, in near course-record time of 1:07.84.
The gelding’s victory was his sixth from 18 starts. Originally bought for $1 million at Inglis Easter by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier from Bhima Thoroughbreds’ draft, he showed promise in winning his second start at Rosehill for Chris Waller.
But after three subsequent indifferent runs, he was put up for sale on Inglis Digital in October 2023. Darby purchased the then three-year-old colt for a not inconsiderable $315,000.
Sent to Darby’s main trainer Bjorn Baker, Caballus won his first two starts including Randwick’s Eskimo Prince Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m). After his form tapered away - including two last-placed finishes in his first two Group 1 starts - he was gelded and given a wind operation, and has come back a different horse.
He’s since won three black-type sprints from five starts - Scone’s Ortensia Stakes (Listed, 1100m), Flemington’s Rising Fast Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m), and now the George Moore.
He also ran eighth of nine in his third attempt at the top level, though in mitigation it came on a Heavy 9 in the VRC Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m).
With Baker having watched on from a holiday in Fiji, stable representative - bloodstock agent Jim Clarke - said Caballus had surprised by going to the front.
"It didn't work out exactly the way we envisaged," Clarke said.
"I think Tommy wanted to follow a couple but he jumped well and found the lead fairly easily.”
Clarke said Baker had high hopes Caballus could break through for an elite success.
"He won at Flemington during the carnival and I think Bjorn has pretty big aspirations for him, possibly in the autumn and back here in the winter,” he said.
"Maybe even a race like the Stradbroke would be ideal for him."
Caballus was a slightly easy $5.50 equal third favourite in the George Moore.
“He won at Flemington during the carnival and I think Bjorn has pretty big aspirations for him, possibly in the autumn and back here in the winter
Tony Gollan - winner of the previous four editions of the race - had to be content with second place this time through $9 chance Pereille (Fastnet Rock), another Inglis Digital graduate having formerly been with Godolphin. Billy Healey’s Cosmic Fire (Cosmic Force) was third at $14. Gollan’s Hidden Wealth (Better Than Ready), the $3.10 favourite, took fourth.
Berry said he was also surprised to find himself in front.
"It was the last place we expected to be but you've got to ride the horse how he jumps and he flew the gates," he said.
"I thought there would be more speed in the race but they were all just having a look at each other and I thought, ‘Ah well, I'll take it up'.
"I knew I was on the best horse all week and I was surprised that he wasn't the favourite.
"He's had a month in between runs, a nice freshen-up, and I knew on the way to the gates that he was on."
Bred by Reg Ryan, Caballus is the best of five winners from five to race out of the Group 3-placed mare Calming Influence (Commands), herself a daughter of Adelaide Listed winner Calming (Zeditave).
Calming Influence has a yearling filly by Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) and has a filly foal at foot by Zoustar (Northern Meteor).
Caballus is one of seven stakes winners this season for I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), who has 122 worldwide from 1312 runners at 9.3 per cent.
Berkeley Square bags back-to-back Ballarat Cups
Local hope Berkeley Square (Territories) pushed his winnings past the $2 million mark when going back-to-back in the $500,000 Ballarat Cup (Listed, 2000m) on Saturday.
Ridden superbly by veteran Luke Nolen and appreciating the return of a set of blinkers, the six-year-old gelding settled last from gate 13 of 14, while a solid pace was set by Air Assault (Justify) over $3.90 favourite Saint George (Roaring Lion).
Nolen set off from the 700 metres and brought Berkeley Square as the widest runner around the home turn, and the Dan O’Sullivan-trained gelding came home powerfully on his home track to score by 2.75 lengths.
It was a win which again showed Ballarat’s “horses for courses” nature, with those with form on its uphill straight seen to advantage.
Berkeley Square in fact hadn’t won a race in nine attempts since his last appearance at the track - winning last year’s Ballarat Cup - when apprentice Jaylah Kennedy stepped in for an injured Nolen and produced a 0.3 length victory.
Nolen in turn took the reins from the injured Kennedy this time around.
The target of some support in starting at $9, Berkeley Square won from Anthony and Sam Freedman’s Cadmus (Gleneagles) at $71, with Emma-Lee and David Browne’s Statuario (D’Argento) third at $14. Saint George ran sixth.
Berkeley Square had been close up on a couple of occasions since his victory in this race last year, including his only placing in the stretch when third in October’s Geelong Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) and a fourth the start before in Flemington’s The Bart Cummings (Gr 3, 2520m).
But after a month-long freshen-up and a drop in distance since his fifth in the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 3, 2600m), the gelding looked ultra impressive in a ninth career win from 36 outings.
In lifting back-to-back Ballarat Cups, he emulated the effort of Kiwia (Reset) in 2018 and 2019, the first multiple winner of the race in almost 40 years.
Bred and retained by South Australian breeding byword David Peacock, who heads his large ownership syndicate, Berkeley Square took his earnings to $2.08 million with a victory his trainer said superseded last year’s.
“He’s just a bloody good horse,” O’Sullivan said of Berkeley Square, now a four-time stakes winner with a peak of the Moonee Valley Vase (Gr 2, 2040m) in 2022.
“Not that he was under pressure, but it’s good to see him do it. To win so comfortably like that was just really really good.”
O’Sullivan said he’d been reluctant to put the blinkers back on Berkeley Square for some time, but noted they had “worked perfectly” on Saturday.
“I was very paranoid about him settling,” he told Racing.com. “He jumped a bit slow, which he can do. I was pleased to see [Saint George] go forward and apply a bit of pressure to Air Assault.
“We knew he’d be strong late in the race, and to see him win by two lengths like that was great.”
Nolen said on the previous two occasions Berkeley Square had worn blinkers, he “didn’t get cover and didn’t get a chance to rest”.
This time, he enjoyed a quiet run at the back before Nolen tacked on in a three-wide running line.
“When the change-up came, I had a lot to do still, but I hadn’t spent a cent and he just got stronger into it,” he said. “I thought they’d come back to me, but he was surging at them, and it was a very strong win.
“I was just trying to get my part of the race right. Most of the horses that were probably going to be dragging me into the race were going to be forward of me. I took my medicine and the race turned out well for me in the end.
“We knew he’d be strong late in the race, and to see him win by two lengths like that was great
“He [O’Sullivan] has done an excellent job. The horse had been running well. He was great in the Geelong Cup but he’s peaked him on this day.
“After the Queen Elizabeth, Dan just said we’ll back off and we’ll target this race in a month’s time. He grows an extra leg on this track too.”
Berkeley Square is one of three stakes winners from Peacock’s mare Bahamas (Teofilo), who won a Werribee maiden among seven starts and was four-times city placed.
Bahamas is also the dam of the outstanding Angel Capital (Harry Angel), also a four-time stakes winner, and of Senor Toba (Toranado), who won a Sydney Group 3 and ran second in the 2021 Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) before going on to Hong Kong, where he’s won another two Group 3 races and run a Group 1 third over 2400 metres.
Bahamas now has a yearling colt by Blue Point (Shamardal) and missed to Harry Angel (Dark Angel) this year.
Berkeley Square is one of three Australians stakes winners for Territories (Invincible Spirit), who shuttled to the country for Darley five times until 2021. The 13-year-old has 19 stakes winners worldwide from 549 runners at 3.4 per cent.
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