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Masked Crusader and Solaia add to Swettenham Stud shuttlers tally
Swettenham Stud shuttler Toronado (High Chaparral) sired a stakes double in Australia on Saturday, which saw his total stakes tally move to ten.
The first leg of the double was kicked off by the Team Hawkes-trained Masked Crusader (4 g ex She's Got Gears by Invincible Spirit) when he resumed with a victory in the Southern Cross Handicap (Gr 3, 1200m) at Randwick.
Having not raced since September, the four-year-old gelding had no problems dispatching his rivals, beating Southern Lad (Ocean Park) by two lengths, while Victorem (I Am Invincible) was another head away in third.
"It was a great effort,” said co-trainer Michael Hawkes. “He was a little bit tardy away. They probably didn't go overly hard and he probably over-raced a bit at some stages. Tommy (Berry) just helped him, tried to nurse him and the only thing we said was get to the top of the rise and let him balance up. He really put paid to them.
"We scratched him last week. It's always a worry when you come here to Randwick. It's a Good 4 and then it ends up on a wet track. It's always a query but he had no weight on his back today.
“He's only a benchmark 79 horse and I know the handicapper will think a bit different now he's beaten these sort of horses. You can only do what you can do and he's a race horse. He's back on song and hopefully onto bigger and better things."
The gelding was purchased by his trainers and Cameron Cooke Bloodstock for $340,000 at the 2018 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale from the draft of his breeder Gilgai Farm and he is out of Listed winner and Group 3-placed Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) mare She’s Got Gears, making him a half-brother to stakes-placed Exceed And Excel (Danehill) mare Outlaw Kate. She’s Got Gears was bought by Dermot Farrington for $700,000 at the 2015 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale and she was covered by Toronado again last September having missed the season prior.
Later on in the afternoon, Solaia (3 f ex Isola Blu by Blackfriars) became the tenth stakes winner for Toronado when she took out the Challenge Stakes (Listed, 1500m) at Ascot.
Last seen finishing second over 1400 metres at the same track on January 9, the Daniel McAuliffe-trained three-year-old surged clear to beat Kissonallforcheeks (Written Tycoon) by a length and a half, while Western Empire (Iffraaj) was a further two lengths back in third.
The filly is one of two winners out of winning and stakes-placed Blackfriars (Danehill) mare Isola Blu, who was purchased by Gall Bloodstock for $75,000 at last year’s Inglis Sydney Broodmare Sale.
Isola Blu herself is a half-sister to Group 2 scorer Goon Serpent (Reset), while this is also the same pedigree as Group 1 winner Capricious Lass (Carry A Smile) and Grade 2 scorer Capichi (Agitate).
Gall Bloodstock also purchased Isola Blu’s colt by Darley stallion Impending (Lonhro) for $38,000 via the Inglis Digital April Sale last year and the mare was covered by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) last December.
Masked Crusader and Solaia are two of five stakes winners for Toronado in Australia and he has 25 lots catalogued at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, which gets underway at Oaklands Junction in Melbourne on February 28.
Meanwhile, Redwood - another son of High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells) - was provided a new stakes winner on Saturday, when the Mike Moroney-trained Tokorangi (3 f ex Agent Ziva by Savabeel) took out the Waikato Guineas (Gr 2, 2000m) at Te Rapa, which saw the Westbury Stud stallion’s stakes count move to eight. Tokorangi was purchased by Paul Moroney Bloodstock / Ballymore Stables NZ for just NZ$30,000 at the NZB Karaka Book 2 Sale in 2019.