Perth raider Cosmic Crusader staked his claim for a lucrative Group 1 campaign at the Melbourne Spring Carnival with an emphatic victory in the G2 P B Lawrence Stakes (1400m) on Saturday.
The Peters Investments homebred was transferred to Victoria to win first-up in the G3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) last month and he added a second at weight-for-age when defeating defending champion Private Eye (Al Maher) by three-quarters of a length at Caulfield yesterday.
Cosmic Crusader (Photo / Getty Images) came from midfield to run down his rivals in a pivotal outing that had owner-breeder Bob Peters and winning jockey Willie Pike looking ahead with measured confidence to the G1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) back at Caulfield in a fortnight.
“I was a little bit worried in the run when he was pulling but once Willie got him to the outside, I could see he was on the job,” Peters said. “It’s a step up against the big boys and girls in a couple of weeks but he did enough today to justify going on.”
Pike said he grew in confidence once he got a look at Cosmic Crusader who is being prepared by Andrea Leek at Pakenham. “He’s a big lovely-striding horse and paraded in great order. He took over when I eased him into the clear.
“I didn’t really mean to put him into the race quite like that but he was going easy and took me for a ride.”
Cosmic Crusader’s dam Cosmic Storm (Street Sense) won five black-type races to Group 3 level in the 2016 La Trice Classic (1800m) and she has been a regular cover for Arrowfield Stud sire Maurice (Jpn). Their latest is an unraced new-season 3yo colt named Cosmic Icon. He took a rails run in a Lark Hill trial in May but wasn’t tested by Pike before going down a nose to Western Phoenix (Shooting To Win).
Second-dam Stormy Nova (Metal Storm) was also a successful Group 3 winner at Ascot in the 2004 Champion Fillies Stakes (1600m). Her other foals include Superstorm (G1 VRC Cantala Stakes), Mikimoto (LR Burgess Queen Stakes) and Royal Command (LR WA Tattersall’s Cup).
Cosmic Crusader won three times from 1200m to 1600m at Ascot in his first 10 starts for trainer Donna Riordan. Sidelined as a 4yo due to an injury-enforced spell, he transferred to Michael Grantham and doubled up at Belmont as a 5yo in September 2025.
Within weeks he went to another level at Ascot on the way to a WA Championship conquest in the G1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) sporting the cerise & white silks.
His ultimate goal this spring will be the $6 million W S Cox Plate (2040m) on October 24 and, if the stars align at Moonee Valley, Cosmic Crusader would be Perth’s first Cox Plate winner since Northerly (Serheed) won it for a second time in 2002.
