Racing
Pedigree profile: Cosmic Crusader
A look into the family background of this year’s Northerly Stakes winner
Cosmic Crusader secured Group 1 redemption when he won Saturday's $1.5 million Northerly Stakes at Ascot.
The five-year-old was favourite for the Railway Stakes (1600m) for much of spring, but failed to gain a start after being beaten at his final two lead-up runs, paving the way for Watch Me Rock to win that $1.5 million event.
It was Watch Me Rock who Cosmic Crusader held off to win Saturday's weight-for-age contest over 1800 metres, which was the first Group 1 success for trainer Michael Grantham.
In doing so, the Kiwi-bred gelding became the seventh Group 1 winner for his sire Maurice, the former Japanese star miler who has shuttled to Arrowfield Stud in the Hunter Valley since 2017 in all seasons bar the Covid-affected year of 2020.
Maurice's other Southern Hemisphere Group 1 winners are Hitotsu, who won the Victoria and ATC Derbys and the Australian Guineas, and Doomben 10,000 winner Mazu.
Cosmic Crusader is from the Street Sense mare Cosmic Storm, who herself contested a Northerly Stakes – finishing 10th in the 2017 edition – and was a four-time Stakes winner with her biggest success coming in the Group 3 La Trice Classic (1800m).
Cosmic Storm is one of four Stakes winners from Metal Storm mare Stormy Nova, whose highest-achiever is Sebring gelding Superstorm, whose biggest win came in the Cantala Stakes when that 1600m Group 1 at Flemington was a handicap run on Derby Day.
Cosmic Crusader is one of only two to race from Cosmic Storm, whose other to the track is Charm Spirit filly Cosmic Spirit, who has had three starts for two wins and a third.
She also has an unraced two-year-old colt by Cosmic Crusader's sire Maurice and last year delivered a filly by Maurice who died after birth before failing to get in-foal to Maurice, meaning she did not have a foal this spring.
Cosmic Crusader, a winner of half of his 16 starts and a tick over $1.2m in stakes, will get the chance to add to his record this Saturday when he backs up in the $1.5m Group 3 The Gold Rush over 1400m.
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