Von Hauke soars to 2025 Crystal Mile success

It’s taken patience, but Cliff Brown’s faith in Von Hauke has been rewarded, with the six-year-old gelding breaking a lengthy drought to win Saturday’s Group 2 Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley.

Ridden by Ethan Brown, the Savabeel gelding stormed home from behind to capture the $400,000 contest, ending a 19-month run without a victory.

The result made amends for a luckless fourth in the same race last spring and marked a new career high for the late-maturing galloper.

“He’s a nice horse and he’s racing really tractably at the moment,” Brown said.

“I think you can see how well he was traveling as Ethan hadn’t moved and he just had to wait for the breaks.

“He was very good. He just needed the breaks and we got them.

“I think he’s really matured and everyone at home has done a great job with him.”

After a slow start to his campaign in The Heath (1100m), Von Hauke had been steadily improving, catching the eye in the Group 3 Sandown Stakes (1500m) and the Group 3 Headquarters Stakes (1400m) at Flemington.

On Saturday, luck turned his way. The $10 shot was momentarily held up on the turn before bursting through to defeat Golden Path ($4.20) by a length, with Rise At Dawn ($2.90) narrowly behind in third.

“I had him humming underneath me and I could see those horses rolling around so it was just a matter of time,” Ethan Brown said.

“We haven’t had a lot of luck lately but he stuck solid and we were able to get the job done today.”

Brown now plans to step Von Hauke into Group 1 company at Flemington, with the Champions Mile (1600m) and Champions Stakes (2000m) both under consideration.

For punters looking to back Von Hauke on Champions Day, top odds are available at trusted Australian betting sites such as Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and TAB.