Cosmo Centaurus lives up to the hype with debut win
Brisbane-based trainer Rob Heathcote declared Cosmo Centaurus (Cosmic Force) the most exciting young horse he has had in his care since Group 1 winner Rothfire (Rothesay) after the gelding became his second-season Newgate sire’s tenth winner in impressive style at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.
After wins in the past three of his four barrier trials lured Heathcote into a Rothfire comparison before the race, Cosmo Centaurus upheld his trainer’s faith by beating a good field in a coveted maiden carrying a $100,000 Inglis bonus.
Sent out a dominant $2.10 favourite for the QTIS three-year-old maiden over 1000 metres, Cosmo Centaurus bounced to the lead early before apprentice Bailey Wheeler allowed the Michael Freedman-trained $3.70 second-elect Balmoral (Royal Meeting) to stride to the front on his outside.
Cosmo Centaurus pushed to the lead again on straightening, and surged clear up the running to ultimately win by 0.8 lengths from Dream Smart (Smart Missile). Heart And Spirit (Spirit Of Boom) was a further 0.2 lengths away in third, with Balmoral finishing fourth.
Dwarfing the winner’s purse of $16,800, the gelding sealed a six–figure windfall for his owners, since the race was one of 50 maidens across the country included in the Inglis Xtra Bonus Series in its first season of operation.
Connections of a winner of a designated maiden earn a $100,000 bonus if their runner is an Inglis graduate from 2023 and beyond and paid up for the Inglis Race Series.
“It’s always special to win a race, particularly when it’s got quite a nice amount of money to it. So thank you Inglis,” said Heathcote, delighted his new three-year-old had transferred his trial form to raceday.
“He’s a cracker. I put a bit of pressure on myself by saying he’s the best juvenile I’ve had in my yard since Rothfire, but he’s got the job done today and I know there’s a lot of improvement to come.”
Heathcote displayed a range of emotions after Saturday’s win by Cosmo Centaurus, a $140,000 purchase by the trainer and Paul Willetts Bloodstock from Middlebrook Valley Lodge’s draft at Inglis Classic 2023, having been bought at the 2022 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale by Randwick Bloodstock, from the Fairview Park draft, for $30,000.
While Heathcote won seven Group 1s with star sprinter Buffering (Mossman), Rothfire has been his best juvenile, winning six of his seven two-year-old races culminating with a victory in Eagle Farm’s JJ Atkins (Gr 1, 1600m).
“It’s a special win for us, because Paul Willetts, who was formerly in Buffering and a few other good ones, bought this horse. So thank you Paul,” he said.
Heathcote also dedicated the victory to Brad Russell, a part-owner of Cosmo Centaurus who died from a heart attack while competing in a kayak race on the Gold Coast last weekend.
“These owners are near and dear friends of mine and it’s special to us,” Heathcote said. “And I want to dedicate the win, because we lost our best mate last Saturday, at 58. Brad Russell and family, this is for you mate.”
Cosmo Centaurus became the tenth winner from 22 runners for young sire Cosmic Force (Deep Field), who’s about to stand his fifth season at Newgate Farm, at $11,000 (inc GST).
The dual Group-winning sprinter ranked tenth among Australia’s first-season sires in 2023-24, with eight winners from 19 runners headed by the Philip Stokes-trained Stay Focused, who ran fifth in the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
Cosmo Centaurus is the first foal out of ten-start maiden Weston Super Mare (Redoute’s Choice), whose two-year-old colt by Brutal (O’Reilly) was withdrawn from Inglis’s May Yearling Sale this year. She now has a yearling colt by Astern (Medaglia D’Oro), and was not covered last spring.
Wheeler said the win had backed up the stable’s opinion of Cosmo Centaurus through the lead-up to his first race.
“We’ve had big wraps on this guy for a fair while now, but you don’t know until you see them come and do it on raceday,” the winning rider said.
“He was too good for them today and I was quite soft on him to be fair, so it’s very exciting for the future.”
Saturday’s Sunshine Coast event was the second of this season’s Inglis Xtra Bonus races.
The first also led to the $100,000 bonus being triggered after Art’s Alive (Snitzel) won at Coffs Harbour on August 2.