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Australian owner Rupert Legh has won some of the biggest races Down Under but five years on, The Everest still eludes him. This year, another horse bearing Legh’s name will return to Randwick Racecourse in an attempt to win the A $15 million prize in likely favourite Masked Crusader.
The former police officer speaks with Everest Diaries about the buying of Masked Crusader, why he feels the horse has the right credentials to win The Everest and shares more about his favourite rising star in sports.
Q: What races do you see Masked Crusader attempting before heading into The Everest?
A: I'm sure John Hawkes (Masked Crusader’s trainer) has got more than one plan. He will probably have two or three plans as he is a very astute trainer. He is one of the better trainers in getting horses ready for the for a big race. Not just mentally, but also physically getting them to peak on the day. The good thing is, the horse is already in The Everest. Some of the owners of Masked Crusaders owned a slot & were very keen to secure him for the race. John can now select the right races and have him ready for the big event.
Q: As the breeder and owner of Masked Crusader, during his early days did you visualize him in The Everest?
A: The horse was actually bred by Rick Jamison from Gilgai Farm. We have a very good friendship and over the last few years, Rick would recommend yearlings from his stud that we should be looking at. In this case, I had Cameron Cook inspect the horse who gave Masked Crusader a very big tick. As history has it, John Hawkes brought the horse at the sale and Rick liked him so much he retained a share.
We actually paid less than what we had budgeted for as his sire Tornado was not well established as a sire at that stage. From the moment I saw Tornado run at Royal Ascot, I took a real fancy to him and thought he would make a great stallion and we have supported him every year since.
Q: What are you seeing some qualities from the sire Tornado that you are seeing in Masked Crusader?
A: He has matured into a proper racehorse. I didn’t expect to see him fully mature until this spring or even the autumn of next year. The feedback coming back from the stable is that Masked Crusader has now turned into a man and not the boy and now looks more like Tornado.
Q: What do you think are the qualities that make Masked Crusader the right sort for the Everest?
A: To win this race you need a horse that will run a very strong 1200 meters. Masked Crusader could run at least 1400 meters and defiantly ticks this box. He also is a very versatile horse in that he can sit on or off the speed. His greatest asset is his explosive turn of foot that most horses don’t have. As demonstrated in the William Reid Stakes, he had the turn of foot and courage to take a gap that most horses could or wouldn’t take. Fortunately, in that race he had a jockey that had the confidence in the horse but also matched the horses courage.
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Q: What was your favorite yearling purchase of this year?
A: It was Snitzel x Rising Romance colt (Easter Yealing sale)
He was actually bred by John Messara. He was one of the best horses he has bred for many years. He felt so strongly about the colt, he retained a share. It goes without saying, John Messara is one of the better breeders in Australia and by staying in the horse, it was a definite vote of confidence that we had made the right decision.
Q: Do you think he will run as an early 2YO?
A: I’m not too sure. My preference would be in the Autumn as a later 2-year-old, but I’m sure the horse will tell us. I like being very patient with young horses and we let them tell us when they are ready.
Q: What is your favorite racehorse and race course of all time?
A: It has to be Chautauqua and Hong Kong because I have big memories of him taking on the world's best sprinters. You can also say his third TJ was also very special. The moment that sits in your mind more than anything else was the Chairman’s Sprint at Hong Kong. It was an unforgeable experience. Very few horses could have done what he did on that particular day. As owners, you felt very proud of his achievement in beating the best sprinters the world could offer on that day.
Q: Who do you think is Australia’s rising star?
A: Without hesitation, Ariana Titmus, who won the 200- & 400-meter freestyle sprint at the Tokyo Olympics. It is a very inspirational story. Titmus and her coach put a plan in place more than 5 years ago to take on the worlds best ever female swimmer. Only people who swim at this level can understand the sacrifices made to take on this task and complete it. I’m sure there would have been a lot of tough times experienced between Titmus and her coach during that five-year period. Watching her coach’s passionate celebration after the first race was the moment of the Olympics. It was obviously a release of all the pressure that had built up over that five-year period. To plan it is one thing, to execute it is another. Both swimmer and coach should be given the biggest tick of approval and congratulations. As the commentator mentioned after to 400-meter race, ‘You only become a legend when you beat a legend’. How true this statement was. I take nothing away from all our other gold medalists who would have given the same commitment and dedication, but I thought these were the races that set the tone for Australia’s special achievements.
Q: As an owner, what changes would you like to see in the racing industry over the next 5 or 10 years?
A: I would like to see our starting processes improve. The loading of our horse takes far too long and the horses loaded early are disadvantaged. We need to adopt similar protocols of those used in America and Hong Kong. Each horse has a handler and are loaded far quicker. As the last horse is loaded, whether you are ready or not the starter lets them go. Every jockey is aware of this starting process. We could even rope of a section 20 to 30 meters behind the stalls, so that horse do not wander to far away from the starting gates. Secondly, I would like to see penalties increased for trainers doing the wrong thing. Eg. If a trainer is found guilty of using a ‘jigger’ on a horse or is guilty of electrocuting the horse, he should be given a life time ban and face criminal charges. There is no place in our industry for this kind of cruelty or behavior. Additionally, any training found guilty in ‘tubing’ a horse or using illegal drugs should be given a minimum ten-year penalty. Once again, the industry would be better off without this behavior.
Q: And the last question we have for you is what TV series are you watching? Or what book are you currently reading?
A: I like reading books about life experiences and life survival stories, eg Shackleton and Into Thin air. I’m not a big TV watcher, but I’m a big fan of Judge John Deed. He is a proper judge who takes no backward steps when overseeing his cases. He doesn’t walk away from the hard decisions and isn’t influenced by political issues. I only wished we had more of his type when I was in the Police force. We definitely need more of his type today and maybe people would think twice about committing crimes. Our legal system needs a total review as we have become far too soft.