Admire Cozzene

Admire Cozzene (アドマイヤコジーン, Hepburn: Adomaiya Kojīn, 8 April 1996 – 6 June 2017)^[1] was a former Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After winning the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in 1998, he took a long hiatus and returned to racing in 2000. He then proceeded to win the Yasuda Kinen in 2002 and accumulated a total of ¥381,264,000 along with HK$800,000 from placing fourth in Hong Kong Mile after his racing career.^[2][3]

Admire Cozzene was a gray horse standing at 158 centimeters (about 15.2 hands) tall. He was foaled by Admire McArdy on April 8, 1996, at the Taiki Farm. His sire, Cozzene, is an American-bred racehorse.^[5]

He was trained by Mitsuru Hashida, the same trainer of other Japanese racehorses such as Silence Suzuka, Admire Vega, and Deirdre.^[4]

Admire Cozzene made his debut race on October 17 at the Kyoto Racecourse and finished in third place. At this next race, he won by nine lengths against Tai Crusher.^[6] Following his first victory, he also won the Tokyo Sports Hai Sansai Stakes by one and a half lengths.^[7] At his last race, the G1 Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes, he finished first among fourteen runners.^[8]

During his training at the end of January 1999, he injured his right hind leg, forcing him to miss the Classics. Moreover, as he was just starting to recover, he suffered from avulsion fracture on his left hind leg, further delaying his return for a year and seven months.^[9]

After returning from his hiatus, he failed to win any races this season as he was still suffering from periostitis.^[9] At his first race, he only placed fourth. On the Hakodate Kinen, despite being the favorite horse with the odds of 3.1, he only managed to finish in sixth place. After placing 11th at the Sapporo Kinen, his losing streak continues, finishing in eighth consecutively and 11th once again at his last race at that season.^[8]

In his third season, he started by finishing in third at the Hankyu Hai, a length behind the second place and the favorite horse, Black Hawk.^[10] At the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy, he placed sixth with a time of 1:36.1. In his next race, he ran in an open race and managed to win in second, losing to Ramjet City by a neck.^[11] On the next open races, he both placed in seventh. Lastly, he ran in Hakodate Sprint Stakes and finished in 12th.^[8]

For his last racing season, he made a comeback by finishing first in the Tokyo Shimbun Hai. He also won the race he previously lost, the Hankyu Hai, by three and a half lengths.^[12] Although he lost in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen against Shonan Kampf, he finally won a G1 race again at the Yasuda Kinen by a neck against the horse of the same bracket as his, Dantsu Flame.^[13] After that, he finished in second against Believe at the Sprinters Stakes. At his next race, the Mile Championship, he placed in seventh despite being the favorite horse. In his last race, he competed in Hong Kong Mile, where he finished in fourth.^[8]

Admire Cozzene had a total of 26 starts, six of which he won where two were G1 races. Although he primarily competed in turf races, he also ran in dirt race twice, with both placing him low. He ran in races with distance ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 meters and was ridden by eight different jockeys throughout his career.^[8][14][15]

Admire Cozzene became a sire in 2003 at the Shadai Stallion Station and was moved to the Rex Stud in 2011.^[16] He has sired a total of 471 foals.^[4] Some of his progenies are listed below.^[3]

Legend:

• c: colt
• f: filly
• bold: G1 stakes

His temperament during his stud career was described as noisy, but has calmed down a lot. His coat reportedly also turned completely white.^[17][9] Moreover, he had a lot of enthusiastic fans and his gentle features were said to attract many female fans.^[18]

According to Rex Co., Ltd., Admire Cozzene received a lot of breeding applications after Snow Dragon's success, though his condition was unfit for breeding and was subsequently retired. He was then moved to Crown Hidaka Farm located in Monbetsu, Hidaka Town in 2015 where he spent his retirement.^[16]

He later passed away on June 6, 2017 due to an aortic rupture. Kono Shoichiro, the public relations officer at the Crown Hidaka Farm, said, "We are deeply saddened by his passing. He seemed just as healthy and energetic as ever on the day of his death. It was so sudden that all of our staff were shocked. We have received condolences from fans, and we are reminded once again that he was a horse that was supported by so many fans. By coincidence, a foal of Admire Cozzene was born early that morning, and we hope that he, along with the other foals born this year, will perform well in Cozzene's place."^[19][1]