Middle Park Stakes winner Crusade dies at stud in South Africa

Crusade, the well-bred winner of the Middle Park Stakes in 2011 for Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore partners, has died at stud in South Africa.

The son of Mr Greeley, who was ten, had to be put down last Thursday during surgery for a severe bout of colic that uncovered “considerable and irreparable damage to the colon”, according to the KwaZulu-Natal Breeders website.

Crusade was bred by a Coolmore syndicate out of the Grade 3-winning Johannesburg mare La Traviata, who would go on to produce dual Group 1 heroine Seventh Heaven and the Group-placed two-year-olds Coat Of Arms and Cristoforo Colombo.

He had won a Curragh maiden and finished fourth in the Somerville Tattersall Stakes before running out a surprise scorer of the Middle Park from Lilbourne Lad and Reply. He subsequently ran a respectable sixth to Hansen in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile but made only one start at three when an eased down last of 11 in the Greenlands Stakes.

Crusade was sold to the KZN Breeders Club and originally stood at Scott Bros' Highdown Stud but when that operation wound down, moved to Clifton Stud.

He leaves the stakes winners Alfeo, Butchie Boy and Covered In Snow, with KZN Breeders claiming he boasted a 55 per cent lifetime winners to runners strike-rate and earners of R5 million (£275,650/€31,350).