Crusade is a dark bay or brown horse with no white markings[2] bred in Kentucky by La Traviata Syndicate, a breeding organisation associated with the Coolmore Stud in Ireland.
[4] Crusade's dam La Traviata was bought as a two-year-old at the Fasig-Tipton Calder sale in February 2006 for $1.1 million by the bloodstock agent Dermot "Demi" O'Byrne on behalf of Coolmore.
Starting as a 33/1 outsider he made some progress in the second half of the race but then faded inside the final furlong and finished eighth of the seventeen runners, more than eleven lengths behind the winner Rugged Cross.
[9] On 22 September Crusade was sent back in England and stepped up in class for the Group Three Somerville Tattersall Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse and started the 5/1 second choice in the betting behind the Roger Varian-trained Farraaj.
"[11] On his final run of the year, Crusade joined his more highly regarded stablemate Daddy Long Legs for a trip to the United States to contest the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on the dirt track at Churchill Downs on 5 November.
Partnered by the American jockey Julien Leparoux he started slowly and never looked likely to win, but made steady progress in the last quarter mile to finish sixth of the thirteen runners behind Hansen, Union Rags, Creative Cause, Dullahan and Take Charge Indy.
[12] Crusade was entered in the Irish 2000 Guineas but did not run in the races, instead making his first appearance of the year in the Greenlands Stakes over six furlongs at the Curragh on 26 May in which he was matched against older horses.