(PHOTO- NICK COUKOS is a broadcaster and consultant at Ajax Downs; second photo is Nick with the late Daryl Wells Jr.)
In 1986, Nick Coukos dropped a claim slip in for a Thoroughbred filly at Woodbine, following the dream that all horse owners have in the world of racing. He got the filly that day, Triple Mystery, and she went on to win for her new owner.
However, it was another filly who was claimed from that same $16,000 race in 1986 who had the most profound effect on Coukos, a finance and accounting major who has been vice-president of racing and corporate affairs of Ajax Downs and recently returned to Ajax as broadcaster and consultant.
“My close friend ,John Charalambous, claimed a filly out of the same race,” said Coukos. “Her name was Hear Music and she was by Master Willie (GB). John put her on the grass for her first race for him and she won and paid $100 to win.”
Hear Music, who was bred by E.P. Taylor, went on to become a multiple stakes winner on the grass for Charalambous and Coukos was often traveling with his friend and his fabulous filly for big events.
“I flew down to Philadelphia Park one morning, with her jockey Gunnar Lindberg; they were in a stakes race. I was excited to see her run. But even though it was hot and dry, the track had left the sprinklers on the night before and flooded the grass so the race was taken off the turf. We weren't too happy."
Hear Music wound up fourth but was right back in the entries a week later in New Jersey at Monmouth Park for the Eatontown Handicap.
“It was 100 degrees that day in July, I will never forget it,” said Coukos. “I made a big bet on her and she won.”
An avid racing fan and horse lover, Coukos followed Hear Music throughout her career before she retired with earnings of over $260,000 (US).
Coukos would go on to be secretary treasurer for the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and executive director of the HBPA (Ontario) before taking over duties at Ajax Downs. He accepted a job as president of the Thoroughbred Owners of California in the fall of 2015 before returning to his home country a year later.
There is no doubt that the scrappy filly that rose up the class ladder to achieve big things meant a lot to Coukos as he worked his way up through the industry.
“She was a rags-to-riches story,” said Coukos. “She had a big impact on me at that point of my life.”
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