Veteran sprinter Coal Crusher is scheduled to make his farewell racecourse appearance in Saturday’s The Hunter at Newcastle, an event he has previously won twice.
Coal Crusher claimed Newcastle’s richest race in 2023 and again last year. In 2024, he finished third behind Briasa.
Saturday will mark the fifth consecutive year Coal Crusher has competed at The Hunter meeting, having also secured a victory in a Benchmark 88 race there in 2022.
Trainer Joe Pride has stated that Coal Crusher, the nine-year-old gelding with the distinctive chestnut coat, will almost certainly be racing for the final time on Saturday.
“This will probably be Coal Crusher’s last run,” Pride declared. “He’s been a great old horse, he’s as tough as nails, but he’s done his job.”
Coal Crusher, who has a record of 53 starts for 10 wins and has earned more than $2.8 million in prizemoney, 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 worked effectively for Coal Crusher in recent years, although the trainer admits his veteran sprinter’s form in lead-up races hasn’t 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 explained. “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 second to Coal Crusher in last year’s The Hunter, will line up in the major race again. However, the trainer is undecided whether Kerguelen will race against 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, having his second start, 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 consistent nine-year-olds, the remarkable Private Eye. This gelding achieved his 15th win from 57 starts, surpassing $13.3 million in career earnings after claiming 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 revealed. “He’s going really well and we will look at an autumn campaign for him.”
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