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| Dane Squance |
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Lumping 60kgs and settling last, Masked Crusader did what was expected and charged home at a rate of knots under Jye McNeil to win the Listed The Heath 1100 last season on this weekend 12 months ago.
Although this Saturday we see the running of the 2022 The Heath 1100, there doesn’t appear to be any ‘Everest’ class runners, but only time will tell.
Already a winner of the Gr1 William Reid Stakes (pictured), Masked Crusader return to the barrier trials during the week ahead of his Spring campaign and finished a solid third, with fellow Everest contender Mazu in second.
Already in the field for this year’s Everest, allocated a slot by Neil Werrett and Max Whitby, lets recap his stunning performance in last year’s race.
Just three starts after his The Heath win, the Hawkes Raing trained son of Toronado contested the $15m The Everest off the back of winning the Group 2 Premier Stakes.
Unfortunately missing the start, jockey Tommy Berry was forced to settle at the tail of the field and wait for a last minute opportunity to charge at the leaders.
With Nature Strip eventually getting the lead and controlling the race, Masked Crusader was last on the rail with The Inferno to his outside.
At the 600m mark, Berry began to rev up Masked Crusader to start to make some ground. With nowhere to go, Masked Crusader had to wait for a gap.
Berry urged his mount towards the inside of the John O’Shea trained Lost And Running and had the Joe pride trained Eduardo in his sights, with that gelding sitting in second.
Reeling in Eduardo, Masked Crusader eventually took second behind Nature Strip, with race caller Darren Flindell summing up it the finish of the race perfectly.
“And Masked Crusader is jumping out of the ground - just missed - Nature Strip clings on. He’s king of the mountain this time. Nature Strip from the fast-finishing Masked Crusader.”