Horse racing: Kuru will be rushing back to get on The Cossack

Top jumps horse The Cossack is to be reunited with his former jockey Aaron Kuru on Saturday.

Superstar jumper The Cossack is going to be reunited with an old mate at Te Rapa on Saturday as New Zealand’s champion jumps jockey Shaun Phelan struggles to return to the saddle.

That will mean Aaron Kuru, who guided The Cossack through the early part of his jumping career, will be back on him for the $70,000 Signature Homes Waikato Steeples and stablemate Nedwin in the $70,000 Fairview Motors Waikato Hurdle.

Kuru used to be The Cossack’s regular jockey before he moved to Victoria, but with that state’s biggest jumping races rarely on a Saturday, Kuru has the option to return for most elite jumping contests.

Kuru suggested to co-trainer Paul Nelson that Phelan was the man for the hot seat when The Cossack ride became available because of his move in 2022, and there is a touch of irony that it was Phelan going to Victoria for the famous Warrnambool carnival that has ruled him out of riding for at least a few months.

Phelan suffered fractures to his T6 and T7 vertebrae in a race fall on the second day of the carnival last month and hasn’t been on a horse since.

“It’s not too sore once I’m up and moving around but it can be very uncomfortable when I stop for very long, or if I move wrong when I’m trying to sleep,” says Phelan.

That means the Cambridge horseman who dominated our biggest jumps races last season won’t be riding any time soon but he hasn’t given up on the jumping season altogether.

“I’m pretty confident I can be back and ready for the Grand National carnival [Riccarton August 5 and 12] and then hopefully the Great Northerns [Te Aroha, September 17].” Nelson says replacing Phelan with a rider of similar ability is no easy task so to have Kuru home for Saturday is a huge help, especially as he also has winning experience on Nedwin.

As good as Nedwin is, and he has bolted in on the flat at his last two starts, The Cossack is the glamour boy on New Zealand jumping but he may face a better track that he absolutely favours on Saturday.

Te Rapa was posted at a heavy8 yesterday heading into trials there today, and while there is rain forecast for Friday, there is at least some respite in the wet weather, meaning the track could be better than many of the northern tracks lately.

“He will handle it if it’s not heavy but he seems at his best when it is wet because he handles that so well,” says Nelson.

While The Cossack is primarily a steeplechaser these days, Nelson hasn’t ruled out mixing some hurdling into his programme, and the way the wonderful gelding downed his rivals in a 2200m flat race on his home track at Hastings last week, he clearly retains the lap speed for hurdling.

Nelson says he would also like to take his stable star back to Australia later in the season if he maintains his form that deep into his campaign.

The Cossack was run off his feet on a good track in the Grand National Hurdle in Victoria last year but was the bravest of seconds, beaten just a head, in the Australian Grand National Steeples last August.

Jumping’s biggest races

Saturday: Waikato Steeples and Hurdles, Te Rapa.

July 1: Hawke’s Bay Steeples and Hurdles, Hastings.

July 15: Wellington Steeples and Hurdles, Trentham.

August 12: Grand National Steeples and Hurdles, Riccarton.

September 3: Pakuranga Hunt meeting, Te Aroha.

September 17: Great Northern Steeples and Hurdles, Te Aroha.