CAPE CRUSADER BACK IN THE WINNER'S ENCLOSURE

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Cape Crusader claimed the fourth win of his career at Dalby in a BM70 Handicap over 1400m on June 3.

The Tony and Maddysen Sears trained gelding had raced over distances around the mile mark in his previous four starts (from 1625m to 1680m) on good, soft and heavy going with a win and a second place featuring amongst those results … but here the Sears camp pulled him back to the 1400m … a winning move.

Jumping as the $4.60 favourite in a open betting race, Cape Crusader sat in the second half of the field, racing in seventh place for the first half of the race.

Having got back, Nozi Tomizawa had to decide whether to ride for luck or circle the field and he made that decision early, pushing Cape Crusader out around horses from the 500m mark and making ground rapidly to corner three wide, in a line of three at the head of affairs on straightening.

The momentum the Sears trained runner had built up now carried Cape Crusader into a clear lead, but he still had work to do as Our Orator ($18) emerged from the pack and rattled home, cutting a four length deficit to Cape Crusader right down to a 0.25 length margin at the line with Cape Crusader lasting long enough to get the job done.