There was a sense of unfinished business for The Cossack heading into Saturday’s Wellington Steeplechase (5500m) at Trentham and the star jumper delivered a faultless performance to collect another major crown for Paul Nelson & Corrina McDougal.
After claiming all there was on offer in the hurdle scene, The Cossack transitioned into steeplechasing last season and was a leading hope to claim the iconic figure-eight feature, before being severely hampered by a fallen runner late in the race and eventually finishing third behind West Coast.
The son of Mastercraftsman resumed this year in winning fashion taking out a second Waikato Steeplechase (3900m) at Te Rapa in June, and the stable sought redemption returning to Trentham where he would stand alone carrying the 73kg top-weight.
Starting a -200 favourite with horse betting sites, The Cossack settled straight into his work navigating the unique course under Hamish McNeill, who allowed the ten-year-old to sit close to the speed controlled by Izymydaad.
After negotiating the double for the final time, The Cossack swept to the lead and set a stern challenge for the remainder of the field, and as they reached the course proper, up-and-coming talents Afterallthistime and Auld Jock loomed as the main dangers.
The chasing pair cleared the last behind The Cossack and fought on valiantly, but the favourites class prevailed as he cantered across the line a half-length ahead of a storming Auld Jock, with Afterallthistime a further 3.25 lengths adrift in third.
McNeill was in awe of the ten-year-old after the marathon jumping contest.
“I was a passenger, he had a heap of fun,” he said.
“He jumped out of the gates, and he wanted to travel today, he made his mind up that Izymydaad wasn’t going to get too far in front of him and he trucked the whole way.
“He gave me an unbelievable feel and he sprinted when he turned for home as well, he’s kept them all at bay. He’s heard them and pinged the last well, and it was over and done with after that.
“Jumps racing is actually thriving at the moment, we’ve got a lot of lovely animals going around and we’re getting the numbers.
“We’re starting to get some new boys (jumps jockeys) in the country and today’s racing has been perfect, you can’t tell me you’re disappointed watching this kind of racing so it’s great.”
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