Braun has veteran Firing

Mister Grizzly may well be the major stumbling block for Cosmic Under Fire at Tabcorp Park this weekend.

To buy or not to buy; that was the $9000 question Dean Braun had on his mind a couple of months ago.

But at that price it was hardly a quandary for the Lara horseman, who promptly encouraged some of his clients to claim pacer Cosmic Under Fire.

And Braun’s eye for a winner has paid off in spades, with the nine-year-old son of Courage Under Fire netting connections about $23,000 in four runs since joining the stable.

Cosmic Under Fire will be out to add more loot to the kitty this Friday night when he goes around as one of the top picks in the first heat of the Metro Claiming Masters series at Melton’s Tabcorp Park.

“He’s really going great; he hasn’t done much wrong,” Braun said.

“I’d watched him for a little while and I knew this series was coming up.

“I saw he was only $9000 and we decided to claim him. We thought that was a great price.”

A winner of 29 from 95 career starts, Cosmic Under Fire’s best form was as a three-year-old when he ran seventh in the Group 1 Chariots Of Fire at Harold Park in 2007 and won the Caduceus Club Cup at Moonee Valley.

He also won the Enduro at Moonee Valley and the Warragul Cup in 2008.

Braun said Cosmic Under Fire “had really thrived” since joining the stable and he is planning on taking the pacer to New South Wales at the completion of the Metro Claiming Masters series.

“He’s owned in New South Wales, so we’ll probably take him up to Menangle and try to win an M0 or M1,” he said.

“He’s nine years old, but he’s racing in career best form.”

Prospective owners will have the opportunity to claim any of the runners in Friday night’s Metro Claiming Masters Series, with Cosmic Under Fire now boasting a $14,000 price tag.

Mister Grizzly is the highest priced claimer entered in the series at $50,000.