Cosmic Crusader shines in Melbourne debut
The prestigious and lucrative Spring Carnival has lured Cosmic Crusader (NZ) (Maurice) to Victoria, and the Group One-winning Western Australian made a big first impression on Melbourne in Saturday’s A$200,000 Gr.3 The Big Screen Company Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield.
Bred in New Zealand by his high-profile Perth owner Bob Peters, Cosmic Crusader had already shown his star quality in Western Australia, where his 17 starts had produced eight wins including the Gr.1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) on December 6.
Saturday’s first-up assignment was some 600m short of that distance, and it came after 224 days on the sidelines since he last raced in December. But Cosmic Crusader wasted no time in making his mark on Australia’s eastern seaboard.
Sent out as a $3.60 favourite, Cosmic Crusader was ridden by Daniel Stackhouse and sat in second-last along the inside as Winnasedge (Cliff's Edge) and Zou Sensation (Zoustar) showed the way.
Stackhouse stayed closer to the rail when the field angled towards the centre of the track at the home turn, and he let Cosmic Crusader rip in the straight.
The five-year-old charged through on the inside of Winnasedge within a few powerful strides, taking the lead with just under 200m to run. The result was in no doubt from that point on as Cosmic Crusader bounded clear to win by two and a half lengths under a hands-and-heels ride.
“He’s beautiful,” Stackhouse said. “As soon as I sat on him and cantered down in the prelim, he just dropped his head and gave me a beautiful feel. He switched off lovely.
“He jumped nicely and I just rode him where he was comfortable. He has a beautiful, big action on him.
“I was happy to stay towards the inside, I thought the ground was fine there. He made up so much ground in about three strides, and I knew we had the race won pretty easily from there. When you ask him to go, he can really quicken and accelerate very fast.
“Credit to Mr Peters for sending him over. He’s got better races to win than this, but it’s a nice kick-off point for the team.”
Previously trained by Michael Grantham, Cosmic Crusader is now in the care of Andrea Leek at Pakenham.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Leek said. “The Peters family have been enormous for my stable. For them to give me this horse and entrust me with him, I can’t thank them enough. I’m just thrilled and so grateful.
“We’ve done a lot of hill work with this horse leading into this campaign. It’s been a real team effort.
“Daniel rode him a treat today. He rode him to win but also rode him to get further distances than this.
“Races like the Lawrence (Gr.2, 1400m) and Memsie (Gr.1, 1400m) are coming up, but I’ll talk to Bob and let him map it out. We’ll enjoy today and look forward to what’s ahead.”
Cosmic Crusader’s 18-race career has now produced nine wins, five placings and A$1.64 million in stakes.
Cosmic Crusader is by Maurice out of the Street Sense mare Cosmic Storm, whose seven wins included the Gr.3 La Trice Classic (1800m) and three Listed races. Cosmic Storm is a half-sister to three stakes winners including the Gr.1 Cantala Stakes (1600m) winner Superstorm.
While in New Zealand, Cosmic Storm was served by Windsor Park Stud stallion Charm Spirit. The resulting filly foal was named Cosmic Spirit and has placed in four of her five starts to date for Cosmic Crusader’s former trainer Michael Grantham. - NZ Racing Desk
Winner: Cosmic Crusader (NZ) 2020
Owners: Peters Investments Pty Ltd
Trainer: Andrea Leek/ Pakenham
Breeding: by Maurice (JPN) out of Cosmic Storm (AUS) by Street Sense (USA)
Breeder: Peters Investments Pty Ltd
Satono Jasmine blooms with four straight wins
The winter of 2026 has been a turning point in the career of New Zealand-bred filly Satono Jasmine (NZ) (Satono Aladdin), who stretched her winning sequence to four in the A$160,000 B & K Group Australia Handicap (1800m) at Randwick on Saturday.
The daughter of Rich Hill Stud stallion Satono Aladdin was unplaced on debut in December, then returned for a second preparation that began with a third at Wyong, a fifth at Hawkesbury and a fourth at Wyong.
Satono Jasmine broke through for a maiden win at Gosford on June 18, and then she was away. She won again at Hawkesbury on July 2 and Warwick Farm on July 15, and this weekend she graduated to Saturday company and carried on her winning way.
Ridden patiently by Chad Schofield, Satono Jasmine settled well back in the field and was at the tail of the field coming around the home turn.
Still last with 350m to run, Satono Jasmine unleashed a brilliant late run down the outside and swept to victory by just over a length.
“That was her best win yet,” Schofield said. “I just let her travel, albeit on a slow speed. Jeez, when I pulled her to the outside in the straight, she accelerated hard and fast. Every time I ride her, she has felt better."
Trained by Brad Widdup, who shares ownership with the filly’s breeder John Clancy, Satono Jasmine has now had eight starts for four wins, a placing and A$161,675 in stakes.
Widdup admits to being surprised by the filly’s coming-of-age campaign.
“I don’t know where it’s coming from,” he said. “I thought she could win a maiden and maybe a class one, but not many do what she is doing. Satono Aladdin is a pretty good stallion, and she might be a good one.
“She has come a long way, and she's got a bit to learn. We don't know where her ceiling is. We'll give her a break and see what happens.
“I won't be charging into the spring now. I'll probably get her back for the early autumn and have a look, try to win a couple of races after Christmas and see where that leads to.”
Satono Jasmine is by Satono Aladdin out of the unraced High Chaparral mare High Spin (NZ), whose dam Genuine Spin (NZ) (Pins) is a full-sister to the Group Three winner and Group One-placed Stickpin (NZ) (Pins) and the Listed winner The Bandito (NZ) (Pins). Genuine Spin is also a three-quarter-sister to stakes winner Reputabelle (NZ) (Pins) and the Group Three-placed Florence Jean (NZ) (Pins).- NZ Racing Desk
Winner: Satono Jasmine (NZ) 2022
Owners: Brad Widdup Racing, Mr J R Clancy
Trainer: Brad Widdup / Hawkesbury
Breeding: by Satono Aladdin (JPN) out of High Spin by High Chaparral (IRE)
Breeder: J Clancy
Sales: 2020 Ready to Run Sale V: Curraghmore $450000 P: Bruce Perry B/stock
First Chorus earns black-type opportunity
In-form mare First Chorus (NZ) (Ghibellines) has a spring black-type feature in her crosshairs after carrying on her rich vein of winter form in Saturday’s A$150,000 Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield.
The New Zealand-bred Ghibellines mare is now a seven-time winner from 15 career starts, with another four minor placings and A$393,860 in stakes. Following Saturday’s Caulfield heroics, she will be given the opportunity to further enhance that record in the A$200,000 Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) at the same venue on August 29.
“The Heatherlie gives us a chance to catch those spring horses napping a little bit with our winter residual fitness,” syndicator Brad Spicer said.
“If we lost this race today, we were going to send her to the paddock before aiming her at the Belle of the Turf (Gr.3, 1600m) in December. But now I think we’ll probably go to the Heatherlie.”
Saturday’s Benchmark 100 handicap was the four-year-old’s eighth start in a campaign that began with a win at Pakenham on March 26. She headed to Caulfield second-up on April 11 and was beaten by a nose in a photo finish, then put together a treble of Caulfield wins on May 30, July 11 and on Saturday.
First Chorus was ridden by apprentice jockey Luke Cartwright, whose 1.5kg claim reduced her weight to just 51.5kg. After taking up a handy position behind the front-running Magnaspin (Magnus), First Chorus asserted her superiority in the straight and went clear to win by two and a quarter lengths.
“It was a bit of a tricky map, with no obvious speed horse,” Cartwright said. “Magnaspin was one that was likely to put himself there, but there wasn’t much else. So, with no weight on her back, we decided to let her be positive and sit in the first two or three. We ended up getting a nice trail on the back of Magnaspin.
“From the 600m, I let her improve. The quicker she went, the harder she grabbed the bridle. When I went for her, she just took off. She’s had a massive winter and she just keeps getting better.”
That opinion was echoed by the mare’s trainer Lindsey Smith.
“That looked like maybe her best win,” he said. “She had the race in her keeping a long way out.
“She’s not a hard horse to ride, but Luke is a good rider and did a great job today.
“She’ll go and have a few days at Rosemont now to freshen up. I know this was her eighth start this prep, but her behaviour and demeanour are very good. With those few days at Rosemont to freshen up, there’s no reason not to push on.
“There’s a race like the Heatherlie that we can target to try to maximise her future.”
First Chorus is by former White Robe Lodge stallion Ghibellines. She was bred by Dean Lawrence with his mother-in-law, Diana Duff-Staniland, along with Paul Duffus. She was purchased privately by Spicer Thoroughbreds.
She is a full-sister to seven-time winner Bellini Miss (NZ) (Ghibellines), with the pair out of the winning O’Reilly mare Broadway Miss (NZ). - NZ Racing Desk
Winner: First Chorus (NZ) 2021
Owners: Mr B J Spicer, Mr S S Roth, Mr D R Wockner, Grass Roots Racing, A A F T'Angles, Mr B Man, Mr S Crisci, Mr C Sacchetta, Mr M R Cawley, Mr C D Taylor, Mr C P Byrne, Mr G A Kernahan, Mr D Davies, Mr M Stevens, Mr N Johnstone, Bell View Park Stud
Trainer: Lindsey Smith / Geelong
Breeding: by Ghibellines (AUS) out of Broadway Miss by O'Reilly
Breeder: Ms D Duff-Staniland; P M Duffus & D R Lawrence
Back-to-back Highways for Leovanni
Saturday’s A$120,000 TAB Highway Plate (1800m) at Randwick was the second straight Highway victory for Leovanni (NZ) (Proisir), and the third consecutive win overall for the in-form mare.
The New Zealand-bred daughter of Rich Hill Stud stallion Proisir took 12 starts to collect her first victory, opening her account at Tamworth on July 3. But she hasn’t looked back from there, following it up with back-to-back Highway victories at Randwick on July 11 and now July 25.
Alysha Collett has been in the saddle for both of those Highway successes, and on Saturday she slotted Leovanni into a forward position on the outside of the front-running Otono (The Autumn Sun).
Otono was labouring before the home turn, which left Leovanni clearly in the lead coming into the straight.
Leovanni gave Collett everything she asked for through the last 400m, finding plenty to hold out the late challenge of the previously unbeaten Maples (The Autumn Sun) by three-quarters of a length.
“As soon as Alysha got up outside the lead there, I was worried she may she would over-race,” trainer Cameron Crockett said.
“But when she relaxed and half switched off, I thought she won't let anything past her, because I know how tough she is.”
This winter has marked a turning point in Leovanni’s career.
“At one stage she was a complete disaster story,” Crockett said. “There was a race at Tamworth where I thought she’d just win and the remaining shares we had in her would sell themselves, but she stood in the gates, missed it by five and rattled home to be beaten by only a length.
“She got sent back to the trials and never jumped at her next two, didn't pass and it was getting worse, not better.”
These three consecutive victories in July have rewarded Crockett’s patience and left him with some thinking to do around Leovanni’s future itinerary.
“I don't want to spell her, but I will give her a bit of a freshen-up, because she has come a long way this prep,” he said.
Leovanni is by Proisir out of the winning Colombia mare Amparo (NZ), who is a three-quarter-sister to stakes winner Aimee’s Idol (NZ) (Colombia). The latter is the dam of Proisir’s Group Three-winning daughter Aimee’s Jewel (NZ), while the pedigree page also features the multiple black-type winners Irish Girl (NZ) (El Roca) and Ready To Strike.
Leovanni was offered by Kilgravin Lodge at the 2023 NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka, where Blandford Bloodstock and Andrew Williams Bloodstock bought her for $210,000.
From a 14-start career, Leovanni has now recorded three wins and eight placings and has earned A$169,850.
Winner: Leovanni (NZ) 2021
Owners: Mr C Crockett, Mr W J Craig, Mr E Kalfadopoulos, Mr J P Elliott, Mr H M B Robinson, Mr M K Palmer, Mr T P Orlizki, Mr R A Bonnici, Mr S Haldane, Mrs J Johnson, Mr M V Swanson, Mr A J Carroll, Mr M Visalli, Mr L A Hawkins, Mr B F Kerr, Mr G D Vandergert, Mr M Adams, Mr G Vanderwal, Mr C Gislingham, Mr G T Clark
Trainer: Cameron Crockett / Scone
Breeding: by Proisir (AUS) out of Amparo by Colombia
Breeder: K Brady
Sales: 2023 Ready to Run Sale V: Kilgravin Lodge $210000 P: Blandford B/stock / Andrew Williams B/stock
LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
Joshua Smith
