Tommy Berry and Masked Crusader have had an on-and-off again relationship, but they will reunite in the $3 million Nature Strip Stakes at Rosehill on a mission to resolve some unfinished business.
Berry rode the now six-year-old in his first race start in 2019 when he was beaten in a maiden at Wyong as a short-priced favourite and despite the loss, he knew the horse had the talent to be something special.
“I thought he’d go there and just bolt in,” Berry said.
“But he pretty much did what he did in The Everest (last start), he missed the start by about three lengths and rattled home.”
Berry has gone on to ride Masked Crusader in almost 40 per cent of his 23 starts, including to his first black-type win in the 2021 Southern Cross Stakes, along with Group 1 placings in the Canterbury and T J Smith Stakes that same year.
He was also in the saddle when the Hawkes Racing sprinter finished a narrow and heart-wrenching second to Nature Strip in The Everest 12 months ago, a loss that still smarts.
“I’m yet to win a Group 1 on him, or a big race,” Berry said.
“I’ve had some nice wins on him, but we’ve got a bit of unfinished business and hopefully that gets done on the weekend.
“I know how good he is and he’s up to the best that we’ve got here, we saw that last year in The Everest when he was just nosed out.
“That still hurts so it would be nice to get something back on him.”
With Willie Pike now doing the bulk of riding for the Hawkes team in Sydney, Berry hasn’t been aboard Masked Crusader since the corresponding race last year when the horse finished midfield as favourite.
On Saturday, he is a $10 chance having finished ninth in Giga Kick’s Everest after throwing his chances away at the start when he missed the jump.
His form prior to that had been encouraging, including an eye-catching third to Saturday’s race favourite Lost And Running in the Premiere Stakes, an effort that had Berry believing Masked Crusader was “building up to something special”.
The only three runnings of the Nature Strip Stakes (1200m) have been won by horses coming out of The Everest and five of the 12 runners fit that bill this year – Eduardo, Private Eye, Mazu, Masked Crusader and Kementari.
