PARA QUEM LÊ EM INGLÊS: CREPELLO

Crepello-foaled in 1954 by Donatella II out of Crepuscule

An extremely handsome though distinctly top-heavy,chestnut colt by Donatella11 out of Crepuscule. He was bred and owned by Sir Victor Sassoon and trained by Noel Murless at Warren Place,Newmarket.   His breeding represented some of the best of Italian, English and French blood.   Lester Piggott rated him amongst the top 5 horse he had ridden.

The tragedy of Crepello was that he had to be taken out of training before he could realise his true potential,but a measure of his greatness can be inferred from the fact that all 3 of his major triumphs were achieved when circumstances were against him. He was basically bred for stamina but proved to be a very versatile horse.   His breeding suggested he would be a 2
mile stayer rather than a Derby winner.

Training him was,in most respects ,easy,but in one respect difficult;there was always the suspicion that one of the tendons in his
foreleg would give away,which would end his racing career. Throughout his career Crepello wore bandages on his forelegs. However he always worked well in the morning gallops.

Crepello made his debut as a 2 year old in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot.  Here he was just beaten by Fulfer. Lester admitted that he did not press the horse too hard as Noel had told him to be easy with him. This
was to save his energy for the more important races.

In the Middle Park Stakes in September Crepello was beaten into 4th place by high class opposition. The race was won by Pipe and Peace.

Crepello made amends for his previous defeats with a hard won win in the Dewhurst Stakes from Queen’s Doutelle. The margin of victory was ¾ of a length.

“He was always a bit lazy,’Lester says.   ‘When he got to the front, he never did more than he had to. ’

For the winter Noel Murless put Crepello away,concentrating on keeping his suspect legs strong.

The following season Crepello was meticulously trained for the classics. He was given hard gallops on the Heath. In these gallops he raced against top class opponents including 2 top class 4 year olds. They included Arctic Explorer who later that year won the King Edward 7th Stakes and the Eclipse Stakes.  The colt was deliberately not raced before the 2000 Guineas. Crepello had the worst draw of all in the 2000 Guineas,at no. 15. At Newmarket horses running the straight Rowley Mile come by preference down what is technically the outer rail of the track. Crepello,drawn furthest away from the stands rails was at a great disadvantage. There were also 2 delays before the start of the race. One horse bolted on the canter down and 3 jockeys later were unseated by colliding with the starting tapes.

In the race Piggott tucked Crepello near the rear of the field.   He remained there till the Bushes at which point Lester pushed him. The colt accelerated beautifully but went a bit lazy on hitting the front. In the end he managed to hold off the fast finishing ‘ Quorum’ by half a length. Pipe of Peace finished 3rd,a short head behind Quorum. Lester had solved the problem of the bad draw by coming over to the stands rail. Crepello showed the racing world his guts by staving of such a strong challenge from Pipe of Peace.
Crepello became a scorching hot favourite for the Epsom Derby.  Lester rode him in his usual manner tucking him into eighth place . At Tattenham corner ,the colt was tucked behind a cluster of horses including Brioche,Chevastrid and Eudaemon. Only 2 furlongs from home did Lester urge him and the colt responded like a truly great horse passing the rest of the field to win by a length and a half. Crepello had displayed his tremendous acceleration powers. Crepello’s timing was 2 mins.  35. 4 secs,.  only 1 3/5 of a second behind Mahmoud’s record time in 1936. Ballymoss, who finished second went on to win the Irish Derby, the Eclipse Stakes,the King George 6th and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes and the Prix d’el Arc de Triomphe. This was a testimony to Crepello’s greatness. Crepello could well have become a superstar comparing with the likes of Mill Reef and Nijinsky but for his tendon problem. Despite of racing in bandages he put up such a great performance.

Crepello became a strong ante-post favourite for the King George.   He continued to work well at home. However trainer Murless withdrew him from the big race as the going was too heavy.   The heavy ground would have adversely affected the great horse whose suspect tendons would not withstand the conditions. This caused immense disappointment to racing fans.

While preparing for the St.  Leger Crepello went lame.  His tendon had stretched ominously. If stressed it would have torn. It was a sad end to a great racing career. Crepello was given a handicap of 106 by David Swannel,which placed him on par with Brigadier Gerard and Mill Reef. (106)  Lester felt the colt would have been unbeaten if it had gone on to race.

Crepello was retired to the Beech house Stud at Cheveley.    He sired Busted,winner of the King George and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes,and the classic winning fillies in Caergwrle and Mysterious. He was a powerful influence on the Donatella branch of the Blandford male line. 

BY HARSH THAKORE