Comparing last year to
this year, its quite a difference with him, said Tom
Haughton, who bought Corleone Kosmos as a yearling and
trains him during the winter. People look at me like Im
nuts, telling me he cant grow when hes 5, and I tell them,
well, he did. Im not lying.
I brought him in a little
after Christmas. When hes out in the field, he doesnt come
in as good as he should. I dont know what he does out there.
I wanted to get going a little early with him and keep an
eye on him. I did a lot of work with him on the straightaway.
He didnt see the main track very much at all.
On deck: The $200,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial on May 17 at the
Meadowlands. Corleone Kosmos competition will include Arch
Madness, Green Day, Knight Of Intrigue, Lanson, Mythical
Lindy, Ripped, San Remo Kosmos, and Up Front Ben. Last year,
Corleone Kosmos was fourth in the Cutler.
Hes come back real good,
said Bryan Owen, the stable manager for Corleone Kosmos
ownership group. Hes trained back really well and we
expect good things out of him again this year. Even though
hes 6, he didnt really race at 2 and he jumped around the
track a few times at 3, so now hes pretty lightly raced.
Hes really starting to come into his own, we hope.
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USTA/Ken
Weingartner photo |
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Corleone
Kosmos has banked $924,391 in his career. |
Best buy:
Corleone Kosmos was purchased
for $52,000 as a yearling. He is on the verge of becoming a
millionaire.When I bought the horse I
thought he was the nicest looking S Js Photo I saw at the
sale, said Haughton. When I worked with him, I couldnt
really see anything special. He was kind of a pain in the
butt. We gelded him pretty early. He was just kind of an
unsettled horse; tough to deal with his whole 2-year-old
season, so I couldnt tell much.
Surprise,
surprise: In April 2005,
Corleone Kosmos won a qualifier at Pompano Park in 1:56.3,
distancing the field by 19-1/2 lengths, with Haughton in the
bike.
It was kind of
embarrassing, Haughton said. I let him go and he just took
off and I just held on. I would never want to do that with a
horse at that stage, but it was kind of exciting. I had
goose bumps. Thats when you could see the type of speed in
him.
Dont run run: Corleone Kosmos has a history of going off stride.
He made breaks in six of his first seven races and, most
painfully for his connections, just prior to the finish line
while leading last years Breeders Crown.
Hes so much bigger and
stronger and hes finally a lot sounder than hes ever
been, Haughton said. The last couple years, it seems like
John was always holding onto him at the end of a race. It
seems like thats out of him now, where he can go right on
through the wire. Hes a lot smarter, too. He wasnt very
smart early in his career.
This year hes so far
above what hes been, so Im just praying nothing happens to
him. Ive sat behind a lot of good trotters and this one is
just another level above them all. I guess its that high
speed. Its just crazy, what it feels like he can do. You
hate to talk too much, but thats what he does. Hes kind of
different. If things can fall our way a little bit, we can
have a lot of fun with him.
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USTA/Ken Weingartner photo |
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Corleone
Kosmos (with caretaker Agata Hejmik) seeks to join Moni Maker as back-to-back Nat Ray champions. |