If Tom Haughton is correct, Corleone Kosmos could make an interesting older trotter division even more intriguing. “If he can just stay sound, I think he’s going to be great,” Haughton said

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Corleone Kosmos, now an eight-year-old, last raced on the Fourth of July when he was third in the Titan Cup at the Meadowlands. Bothered by aches and pains, he was given six months off before returning to work at the end of December. He won the Trotting Classic last year and earned $279,022 in six starts.

Last week, the trotter was first in a qualifier in 1:57.2 at the Meadowlands.

“He’s back to normal,” said Haughton, who bought Corleone Kosmos as a yearling and trains him in Florida during the winter. “All those warhorses have aches and pains, but he’s never had anything too serious. He probably trained back the best I’ve ever seen him. He’s bigger and stronger than he ever was. He feels nice as far as soundness.”

In his career, Corleone Kosmos has won 19 of 52 races and earned $1.9 million for owners Arthur Rudolph, Rudolph Stables and Bernard Owen. In 2008, he won the Breeders Crown Trot as well as the Trotting Classic, Titan Cup and Cutler Memorial. He finished second to Enough Talk in the voting for divisional honours.

In 2007, he won the Nat Ray Invitational and American-National.

“We brought him back very slowly,” Haughton said. “I jogged him about six weeks and then I started to train him. I worked out a schedule and he never missed a beat. He felt good right from the start. To me, he seems better. He seems a little more grown up. He’s always acted a little too wound up; right now he’s big and strong and seems to be more relaxed. The time off did him a ton of good.

“I think he could have his best year this year.”

John Campbell drove Corleone Kosmos in his qualifier last week. Campbell has driven the horse in all but three of his last 38 races.

“I was very happy with him the other day,” Campbell said. “He had some issues last year; even when he won the Classic Series final he wasn’t near himself and just gutted it out. He seemed sound (last week); much sounder than he was any time last year. Trot wise he was really comfortable. I didn’t push him at all and he came through the stretch pretty relaxed. It was a good effort for him.

“As long as his issues with soundness don’t flare up I don’t think there’s going to be any problem ability wise. It’s a very strong division just based on Enough Talk and Lucky Jim, so he's going to have to perform at a high level. But I think he will as long as he’s sound.”

The older trotting division belonged to Lucky Jim last year. It could be a different story this season. On April 9, Enough Talk - also back from a variety of ailments a year ago - ended Lucky Jim’s 16-race Meadowlands win streak. Enough Talk won by a neck in 1:52.4 in the second round of the Su Mac Lad Series a week after Lucky Jim defeated Enough Talk by a head in 1:52.1.

Buck I St Pat, who has been the older female trotting division’s champion the past two seasons, also qualified last week (finishing second to Corleone Kosmos) and is eligible to face the boys in the Cutler Memorial and Titan Cup.
“There are some pretty good ones out there,” Haughton said. “There is only a handful that can go the last quarter in 26 seconds or so and Corleone has always been one of those.”

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S.
Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.