Perth star out to conquer Melbourne

Perth owner Bob Peters is looking towards next month’s Memsie Stakes as his Group 1 winner Cosmic Crusader starts his eastern state adventure on Saturday.

The talented five-year-old won the Northerly Stakes at weight-for-age over 1800m at the end of last year then showed his versatility by dropping back to the 1400m Gold Rush seven days, splitting Rey Magnerio and Overpass in a blanket finish.

After the summer campaign, Cosmic Crusader was sent to Andrea Leek in Victoria and given a long break, which will end in Saturday’s Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield.

“There was nothing wrong with him. We sent him over and decided to wait for the spring,” Peters said.

“We are from Perth and like to see our horses run her, but after he won a couple of races over here, there wasn’t much for him [in Perth], so we’ll give him his chance over there.

 “There are a lot of good horses over there at this time of year, I’ll be able to tell how good he is hopefully after the Memsie.

“If he goes well there he could run in other races, but it will be up to how he goes over there.”

Daniel Stackhouse has been booked for the Bletchingly, where Cosmic Crusader is the $3.50 favourite, with the Group 3 falling into a campaign, which will include the PB Lawrence Stakes in three weeks’ time followed by the Memsie.

Cosmic Crusader has had one jumpout in Victoria, being runner-up to Pop Award at Caulfield on July 1 and had a tongue tie added to his gear.

“We thought about having a second barrier trial but this race was there for him,” Peters said. “It will give him a couple of runs before he gets to the Memsie, if he is good enough.

“It is short of his best trip on Saturday, but he will run well.

“He has had a long time off, so he needs a couple of runs for fitness.”