Cruden Bay has a special spot in trainer Donald MacRae’s heart.
Especially after the 7-year-old gelding – making only the 24th start of his life and his first in almost a year, won his second consecutive G2 Connaught Cup at Woodbine June 20.
Cruden Bay had raced only once since he won the Connaught Cup last year at seven furlongs. He finished fifth in the mile King Edward Stakes last August 23 and then we saw him no more – until now.
Recently, MacRae wanted to get the gelding into a 9-furlong allowance on the turf to prepare for this, but weather being what it is, the race was taken off the grass, so MacRae had to scratch him.
So into the Connaught Cup he came again, like a kid who has to make a speech without notes, like David meeting a few Goliaths with little practice on the slingshot. He needed to plant one with the first shot, dead on. He did. And how.
Cruden Bay was meeting a load of ship-ins from other tracks: Canadian-bred Northern Invader, second in the Tampa Bay Derby behind Running Bee and third in the Kelso behind the brilliant Carl Spackler; Shards, who finished fifth in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Sprint Turf two years ago; and Kehoe Beach, a filly third and fourth in a couple of Grade 1s. All of them with races under their belts.
MacRae hoisted young rider Fraser Aebly into the saddle for the first time on Cruden Bay and the two got along. Quite well, actually.
Kehoe Beach set the pace as the 3 to 5 favourite, while Cruden Bay stretched his legs back in next-to-last spot. At odds of 9 to 2, Aebly angled Cruden Bay out five or six wide around the final turn.
“When I hit the head of the lane, I started smooching on him a little bit and he started to pick up the bridle,” Ably said. “It was just whether we found a spot to go. He sure gave me everything he had.”
Cruden Bay ripped down the homestretch like a diesel transport. Up in the stands, MacRae was screaming like a banshee and didn’t care who heard him. The gelding swept dramatically to the lead, winning by 1 ½ lengths. He was much the best, with Northern Invader picking up second, and Piper’s Factor third. Kehoe Beach finished fourth.
Cruden Bay ran the distance in a sprightly 1:21.98. He won last year’s Connaught in 1:21.27 in what was only his second start of the year.
“Once in a while, it works out,” MacRae said. “Sometimes it doesn’t. So today was a great day for sure.”
At the three-eighths pole, MaeRae told owner Michael Lay that they had a lot of horse. “When you know the horse, you know how hard he tries,” MacRae said. “He’s just amazing.”
The whole MacRae team loves this horse. “We’re a small outfit and we bust our butts every day,” he said. “I’m so proud of everyone right now. We’ll be partying tonight for sure.”
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