by Moira Fanning, publicity director, the Hambletonian Society

Campbellville, ON — Corleone Kosmos, the U.S. point leader in the World Cup Trot rankings, prepped for the next leg of the series, Saturday’s (September 1) $726,000 (C$784,080) Breeders Crown Trot by working out in 1:54.1 on Saturday night, August 25, at Mohawk Racetrack.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Corleone Kosmos worked out in 1:54.1 on Saturday night.

John Campbell drove Corleone Kosmos, who previously raced August 4 in winning the Nat Ray by three-quarters of a length over Equinox Bi in a lifetime-best 1:51.2.

“I thought he was pretty good,” said Darren McCall, who trains Corleone Kosmos in Canada for owners Arthur Rudolph, the Rudolph Stables, and Bernard Owen. “He trained good and recovered well, so he’s on top of it for next week. He just needed one good workout, that’s all. He did it pretty easy.”

Corleone Kosmos, now 5, was third in last year’s Breeders Crown Trot at the Meadowlands. His only trip north of the border last year came in September when he went off stride and was placed seventh in his elim for the Maple Leaf Trot and failed to reach the final. It was his last start of 2006.

“He’s a much better looking horse than he was last year when he came up to me,” McCall said. “He came up here for one race and it was the end of a long campaign for him. He looked pretty tired and worn out. This year he looks like a real horse. He’s proved it, too.”

Three Breeders Crown Pace finalists — Artistic Fella, Western Shore and Zooka — also were in action on Saturday night in the Open at Mohawk. Artistic Fella, driven by Tim Tetrick for trainer Steve Elliott, won by 3-3/4 lengths over Secrets Nephew in 1:50.4. Zooka was third and Western Shore finished sixth.

“He was really sharp,” Tetrick said. “I never even pulled his plugs. He was very good; strong all the way to the wire. I look for a good effort next week. They’re going to mix it up. We’ll just hope for some luck and hopefully we can do all right with it.”