The excitement machine Masked Crusader made his supporters sweat when staging a miraculous last to first performance in Saturday’s Group III McCafe The Heath 1100 Stakes at Caulfield.
After missing the start, Jye McNeil settled the 5yo son of Toronado (IRE) at the rear of the field.
Switched out to the centre of the track, Masked Crusader picked off runner after runner as he set out after Amish Boy who had his share of bad luck in the straight.
Going two to their one under his top-weight of 60kgs, Masked Crusader overpowered Amish Boy (Star Witness) by three-quarter of a length with Oxley Road (Exceed And Excel) a further length back in third.
Trained by Michael, Wayne, and John Hawkes, Masked Crusader advances his record to six wins, two seconds, and two thirds from 13 starts with earnings of $1,177,025.
All roads lead to The Everest,” Wayne Hawkes said
“He certainly had to do it the hard way and the horse in front of him certainly wasn’t taking him anywhere. Coming to the corner I thought ‘gee whiz’.
“If you’ve never walked the track at Caulfield, it is a 90-degree right angle and they railed like greyhounds there and they were gone. Truthfully, what went around my mind there was Chautauqua and that’s what he had to do, he had to do a Chautauqua-like performance.
"We just brought him to Melbourne, Sydney is under COVID (restrictions). It is very, very tough and hard to do what you want to do in Sydney at the moment. That was one of the reasons he came here.
“His first start in a race he won and broke a track record here at Caulfield. We knew he’d get around Caulfield.
“Michael said to me that he’s flying. He was certainly right, there’s no doubt about that.”
A $340,000 purchase by Hawkes Racing / Cameron Cooke Bloodstock out of the Gilgai Farm draft at the 2018 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, Masked Crusader is the best of three winners from five to race out of the Listed VRC Ottawa Stakes winner She’s Got Gears (Invincible Spirit).
Purchased by Dermot Farrington for $700,000, on behalf of Gilgai Farm, at the 2015 National Broodmare Sale, She’s Got Gears has a 3yo colt by Sebring named Insurgence, purchased by China Horse Club/Newgate Bloodstock/ Stonestreet for $825,000 at the 2020 Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Insurgence has made two starts and was most recently second in a Kembla Grange maiden in July.
She’s Got Gears has not had a foal in the past two seasons. She was covered by Toronado (IRE) again last spring.
Coming off covering a career-high 210 mares last year, Toronado (IRE) returns to Swettenham stud this spring at a fee of $49,500 (inc GST)
