The Scott Bros’ well performed young sire Crusade (Mr Greeley) is one of a handful of Gr1 winners who will be represented by their first crop of two-year-olds in South Africa this season.
A top class performer, Crusade won twice up to 1200m, with his victories including the prestigious Gr1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.

In the 2011 Middle Park Stakes, Crusade accounted for no fewer than six group winners including Lilbourne Lad (Gr2 Railway Stakes), Balty Boys (Gr3 Superior Mile), Caspar Netscher (Gr2 German 2000 Guineas), Family One (Gr2 Prix Robert Papin), and Bapak Chinta (Gr3 Norfolk Stakes).

The grandson of Gone West ended the year as one of the top rated two-year-olds of his generation and was rated higher (by Timeform) than Gr1 winners Mandaean (Manduro), Lightening Pearl (Marju), Elusive Kate (Elusive Quality), and La Collina (Strategic Prince).

The Middle Park has a long history of having been won by some of history’s greatest stallions, with past winners including outstanding sires Petingo, Sharpen Up, Bold Lad, Diesis, Oasis Dream and Dark Angel –among others, and Crusade is well placed to add further glory to this long list.

Crusade is one of more than 60 stakes winners sired by Gr3 Swale Stakes and Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner up Mr. Greeley, whose offspring include 14 individual Gr1 winners, including the Gr1 producing sire El Corredor, and champion filly Finsceal Beo. The latter made international headlines when her Frankel filly foal topped the 2014 Goffs November Foal Sale at €1 800 000 –Finsceal Beo’s son, subsequent Gr2 Beresford Stakes hero Ol’Man River, also proved popular at Goffs –with that son of Montjeu topping the 2013 Goffs Orby Sale at a whopping €2 850 000!

Not only does Crusade hail from the magnificent Mr Prospector male line, but he is also from an increasingly potent female line.
He is out of the top class racemare La Traviata (Johannesburg) –whose wins included a nine and a quarter length romp in the Gr3 Victory Ride Stakes at Saratoga. Equally successful at stud, La Traviata is not only dam of the Gr1 winning Crusade but also of 2016’s outstanding 3yo filly Seventh Heaven (Galileo) –the winner of both the Gr1 Darley Irish Oaks and Gr1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks this year.

Crusade’s first three dams are by Unbridled, Devil’s Bag and Miswaki respectively –with all those three having featured as broodmare sires of top stallions. Unbridled is damsire of champion US sire Tapit (Pulpit), Devil’s Bag is damsire of Orpen (Lure) –who has over 90 stakes winners to his name, while Miswaki is damsire of the world’s premier stallion Galileo –recently responsible for the first three home in the Gr1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The handsome entire’s first yearlings proved very popular during 2016. Crusade’s first yearlings fetched up to R300 000 at the 2016 National Yearling Sale, and he was also the second leading sire by aggregate at this year’s Sibaya Casino KZN Yearling Sale.
Bred to be anything, and himself one of the best juveniles of his era, Crusade’s first runners should come out all guns blazing!