Sierra Kosmos Passes

Sierra Kosmos (3, 1:53.4 [$558,710]), one of the fastest trotters of the 1990s, recently passed away at the Pennsylvania farm of Rick and Gina Beinhauer, who have owned him since he was a yearling. Sierra Kosmos was 31.

Sierra Kosmos took his 1:53.4 mark at the Red Mile in 1992 with Beinhauer in the bike, shortly after having set a 1:56.3 world record in the Old Oaken Bucket over the half-mile course at Ohio's Delaware County Fairgrounds.

The son of Nearly Perfect went to stud at Hanover Shoe Farms and sired the Breeders Crown winner and Hambletonian Oaks runner-up No Nonsense Woman 3,1:54 ($1,261,909) in his first crop. From his second crop came another top filly in Fern 4,1:52.3 ($1,245,502).

He was pensioned after breeding mares in 2014 and became virtually a member of the Beinhauer family.

A striking brown colt with a star, strip, and four white ankles, Sierra Kosmos was purchased by Rick Beinhauer and developed by his friend Dan Altmeyer. Beinhauer was an avid amateur driver and he handled the reins during the colt’s career.

As a freshman in 1991, Sierra Kosmos won eight of 14 starts and took a mark of 1:56.4 at Indianapolis winning the Hoosier Futurity. He banked $117,460 as a two-year-old.

Although he was not kept eligible to the Hambletonian, Sierra Kosmos beat the Hambletonian hopefuls one week before the big race in the $454,500 Beacon Course Trot at the Meadowlands Racetrack (his time was 1:54.4). Hall of Fame horseman Howard Beissinger raced against Sierra Kosmos that season and said that he was “the fastest trotter in North America.”

In the Old Oaken Bucket at Delaware in 1992, Sierra Kosmos triumphed by a huge margin and his clocking of 1:56.3 was the fastest sophomore race trotting mile ever over a half-mile track. From there, the colt went to Lexington and won in 1:53.4 against the best Grand Circuit sophomores.

Sierra Kosmos was an attractive stallion prospect because his pedigree combined the blood of Florican and Victory Song, which made him a perfect outcross for the flood of mares by Speedy Crown and Super Bowl then in the breeding ranks.

Sierra Kosmos went to stud at Hanover and served 1,147 mares in his first seven seasons there. Among his many top trotters, in addition to No Nonsense Woman and Fern, were Springtop, Kick Tail, Donnegal, Bettis, Silver Pine and Kosmo Girl. He sired the dams of the millionaire trotters Lucky Jim, Calchips Brute, and Anders Bluestone.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Sierra Kosmos.

(Dean Hoffman)