Curtain coming down on stellar jumping career

[Wandering Eyes]

It looks to be the end of the road of a long and distinguished career for top jumper The Cossack (NZ) (Mastercraftsman) after suffering a suspensory ligament injury.

The 11-year-old gelding is down in Riccarton and was set to meet arch-rival West Coast in the Racecourse Hotel & Motor Lodge 149^th Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) on Saturday before the untimely injury.

“He was alright on Saturday and he worked on Sunday. He hasn’t shown any lameness, but he has got fill around the suspensory, we looked at the scan and it was no good,” said Paul Nelson, who trains the gelding in partnership with Corrina McChief Stipeal.

Nelson, who also part-owns The Cossack, hasn’t ruled out a return to racing for the son of Mastercraftsman, but admitted that scenario is unlikely.

“He is definitely out for the season and will probably be retired,” he said.

Initially trained by John Bary, The Cossack showed talent on the flat as a younger horse, running fourth in the Gr.3 Manawatu Classic (2000m) as a three-year-old.

He recorded wins in his three and four-year-old seasons but was then winless for two years and Bary elected to try the gelding over hurdles. The Hastings trainer enlisted the services of leading jumps jockey Aaron Kuru, who guided The Cossack to a runner-up effort in his hurdle debut.

Kuru was impressed with the talent under him and passed his thoughts onto his good friend Nelson, who already had The Cossack on his radar as a potential jumping star.

“He had a couple of hurdle races and Aaron (Kuru) rode him and said he liked him. When he became available for sale we didn’t waste much time (in buying him),” Nelson said.

The Cossack finished runner-up in his first two starts for Nelson before breaking through for his maiden hurdle victory at Te Aroha in August 2020.

His first prestige title came two months later when taking out the Great Northern Hurdle (4190m) at Ellerslie. He continued his dominance the following year when taking out the Waikato Hurdle (3200m), Wellington Hurdle (3100m), and Grand National Hurdles (4200m) before defending his crown in the Great Northern.

The Cossack picked up where he left off in 2022 when winning all three of his jumping starts in New Zealand, including the KS Browne Hurdle (3100m), Hawke’s Bay Hurdle (3100m) and maiden steeplechase, before Nelson felt the pull to test his charge across the Tasman. The Cossack ran fifth in the Grand National Hurdle (4200m) before lugging topweight of 70kg to within a half head of winner St Arnicca in the Grand National Steeplechase (4500m).

The Cossack transitioned to a career over steeples upon his return to New Zealand and added further prestige titles to his record, including the Waikato Steeplechase (3900m) Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4800m), and Wellington Steeplechase (5500m) in his final raceday outing at Trentham last month.

In all, The Cossack recorded 19 wins and accrued nearly $700,000 in prizemoney in a career that spanned eight seasons.

“Every win was great,” Nelson said. “It is hard to choose one highlight, but his second in Australia was up there too. He ran a good race in the hurdle, and he had to carry top weight in the steeplechase at only his second steeplechase start and he only got beaten by half a head.

“He is one of those horses that don’t come around very often. He has hardly been beaten in hurdle racing and he has hardly been beaten in his steeplechasing career as well. It takes a special horse to do that.”

The Cossack’s injury came at an unwelcome time, with stablemate Dictation (NZ) (Tavistock) snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the Sydenham Hurdles (3100m) at Riccarton on Saturday when losing his rider at the final hurdle when several lengths clear of eventual winner Berry The Cash.

Nelson said the gelding has come through the race well and will be looking to redeem himself when he returns to Riccarton on Saturday.

“It looked like Dictation had the Sydenham won before he fell at the last. He has come through it well and he will run in the one-win hurdle on Saturday,” Nelson said.

Nelson is also looking forward to lining up Nedwin (NZ) (Niagara) in the Hospitality New Zealand Canterbury 134^th Grand National Hurdles (4200m).

The 10-year-old gelding heads into the race in winning form, having taken out the Wellington Hurdles (3200m) at Trentham last month, and Nelson is looking for a change of luck this week.

“It will be nice to have a bit of change in luck as the last few days haven’t been that good,” he said.

While The Cossack has been ruled out of the Grand National Steeplechase, Nelson may have another contender in the race in Al’s Red Zed, who finished fourth in the Koral Steeplechase (4250m) last Saturday.

“Al’s Red Zed is in the National Chase, but we have got to make up our mind about whether we are going to run him or not,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nelson is urging the jumps racing fraternity to rally together in the wake of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing’s release of their consultation document on the future of jumps racing.

“We need to encourage every participant in jumping to make a submission to NZTR, that is the most important thing,” he said.

“I am certain there is enough support for jumps racing, but if people are lethargic about sending in a submission then we will be down the tube.”

To read NZTR’s consultation document click here.

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