Veteran sprinter Coal Crusher is poised to make his final appearance on the racecourse in Saturday’s The Hunter at Newcastle, a race he has won on two previous occasions.
Coal Crusher triumphed in Newcastle’s richest race in 2023 and repeated the success last year. He also finished third to Briasa in 2024.
Saturday’s event will be Coal Crusher’s fifth consecutive year competing at The Hunter meeting, having also won a Benchmark 88 race at the track in 2022.
Trainer Joe Pride has stated that Coal Crusher, the nine-year-old gelding with the striking chestnut coat, will almost certainly be racing for the last time on Saturday.
“This will probably be Coal Crusher’s last run,” Pride said. “He’s been a great old horse, he’s as tough as nails, but he’s done his job.”
Coal Crusher, who has competed in 53 races for 10 wins and accumulated over $2.8 million in prize money, is nominated for The Hunter, along with stablemates Accredited and Kerguelen.
Pride has followed the same spring carnival program leading into The Hunter that has historically served Coal Crusher well in recent years, though the trainer concedes his veteran sprinter’s lead-up form has not been as strong as in previous years.
Coal Crusher heads to The Hunter after finishing last of 16 in the Group 2 Sydney Stakes and then 14th of 15 in the Group 2 Russell Balding Stakes.
“He seems good, he’s fit and well, but his lead-up runs are not where they have been the last couple of years,” Pride commented. “But he’s an older horse now, he’s been getting into awkward sports in his last few starts and he’s a quirky horse. I’ve waited for The Hunter to put the blinkers back on and he always races well at Newcastle so I’m expecting a much better run on Saturday.”
Pride confirmed that Accredited, who finished as runner-up to Coal Crusher in last year’s The Hunter, will again participate in the significant race. However, the trainer is yet to decide whether Kerguelen will take on his stablemates or be reserved for the Benchmark 94 race on the same program.
Accredited resumed with a close third to Polyglot in the Choisir Handicap at Royal Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day. Kerguelen, in his second start of the campaign, finished seventh in the same race.
“I thought Accredited was really good first-up and he’s trained on well,” Pride stated. “It’s going to be a very strong Hunter again so I would hope Accredited can draw well. Kerguelen is fitter now but I’m looking at whether we go for the benchmark 94 race with him.”
Pride also provided an update on another of his stable’s enduring nine-year-olds, the noteworthy Private Eye. This gelding achieved his 15th victory from 57 starts, pushing his career earnings beyond $13.3 million following his win in the Group 2 Linlithgow Stakes at Flemington on Derby Day.
“I’ve decided to give Private Eye a ‘holiday’, he’s gone for spell,” Pride announced. “He’s going really well and we will look at an autumn campaign for him.”
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