He has won more than 50 races, over $370,000 in prizemoney, and numerous feature races, but the one event to escape Cosmic Bonus, is the one his trainer Evelyn Harris hopes to snare with him on Friday afternoon.
Harris won the Casino Cup back in 2016 with Black Lee Bonus not long after moving to the Northern Rivers, and just weeks before her latest dog made his debut at Casino, winning a heat of the Pop Northfield Maiden. He would then win the semi-final and the final of the prestigious event in following weeks.
That dog who debuted more three years ago, was Cosmic Bonus.
He has tried twice to capture the Casino Cup. In 2017 after winning his heat in fine fashion, he could manage only fourth to Terra Torra in the Final.
Last year, after clocking the fastest heat time, Cosmic Bonus again couldn’t get it done in the final, finishing fifth to Fab Fit.
On Friday, a week short of his fifth birthday, Cosmic Bonus will have one final tilt at winning a Casino Cup, hoping it will be third time lucky.
“It won’t be easy. He’s got fast beginners on either side of him, so he really needs to jump this week,” Harris said.
Last week in his heat Cosmic Bonus walked out of the boxes and was last heading into the first turn. In the meantime Fernando Blaster was off and gone, and running a track record. To his credit Cosmic Bonus showed great field savvy to work his way into finishing second and qualifying for the $25,000 to the winner final.
“It was a great run and you wouldn’t believe the way he got home last week,” she said.
In the final, Cosmic Bonus has drawn box three like he did in his heat, with Fernando Blaster inside him, and Painted Picture – an absolute speedster who won the Casino TAB Million Dollar Chase Regional Final in September - drawn outside him in box four.
While it would be a brave punter to bet against the odds-on favourite Fernando Blaster after his 27.08s track record run last week, Cosmic Bonus does have the next fastest Casino time in the field by a fair margin, having clocked 27.15s back in September, just a length slower than Fernando Blaster’s time.
Painted Picture is next best with a 27.31s, a time run in the heats of the Casino MDC.
Short Pork, a heat winner in 27.55s is also considered a chance from box eight, as is the fast finisher Connie’s Boy who has the one box.
Harris had hinted that Cosmic Bonus may be headed into retirement after he finished fifth in the final of the $100,000 to the winner Masters Meteor held at Wentworth Park on MDC Grand Final night, when trying to defend his title.
“He’s just remarkable,” Harris said. “And that’s why we’re just letting him race. He’ll tell us when he’s had enough.”
And judging by the form he continues to produce, for the dog who has won 59 races and been placed 36 times in his 123 starts, that may be well beyond his fifth birthday.
