Dale Romans have high hopes for Cozzetti, as he prepares the colt for the CashCall Futurity
The 2-yeaer-old Albaugh Family Stable’s colt, Cozzetti, arrived from Kentucky for the Grade 1, $750,000 CashCall Futurity and swelled up the lineup to 13 in the Grade 1 test at 1 1/16 miles over the Hollywood Park’s cushion track on 17 December, 2011.
Dale Romans, who trains the juvenile colt, will be eager to get the race started because the conditioner expects big things from his juvenile colt, and winning the CashCall Futurity would boost his confidence up to put Cozzetti on the sacred trail of the
Triple Crown in 2012.
“I think he’s a special horse and I want to give him a shot in a big race,” Romans said on Tuesday. “He’s one of those horses that with a couple of races under his belt, he’s moved forward. I think he’s peaking right now.”
The Kentucky bred son of Cozzene, out of mare Lemon Drop Cello by Lemon Drop Kid, Cozzetti broke his maiden in his third asking, as he failed in the first two attempts at Belmont Park, failing to even turn in a placed finish once in a seven furlong dash
where he finished fifth and the second time in 1 1/16 miles long race where he finished fourth.
However, Dale Romans confidence in Cozzetti stems from a maiden special weight race on 16 November, 2011, at Churchill Downs, where he managed to post a five length win over the runner up.
It was a sloppy track to begin with, and Cozzetti was kept quiet in the early stages of the race as he stalked the pace, but on the turn he outhustled his opponent to take the lead and gradually pulled away to win be five massive lengths.
“We told Julien to ride with a lot of confidence,” Romans said. “At the sixteenth pole, he opened up.”
Trainer Dale Romans sent out Cozzetti to California last week, with the intention to run Cozzetti in a couple or workout sessions which the colt turned in at Hollywood Park, going five furlongs in 1 minute and 2.60 seconds on 11 December.
“I thought it would be worthwhile to give him a feel of it,” Romans said. “He’s a young horse, and he’s never raced on it.”
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