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By Ray Hickson

Garry Dyson would say he has a casual involvement with racing, other members of his family are more heavily invested, but winning The Kosciuszko might just change that.

It’s fair to say he had some mixed emotions, aside from the shock of being the winner, as Front Page crossed the line to become the first dual winner of the $2 million country feature on TAB Everest day.

Dyson’s son-in-law and daughter are part owners of Mogo Magic, who finished tenth in the race, and bought their tickets in the hope of getting that horse into the field.

Kosciuszko slot winner Garry Dyson and his wife Marilyn at Randwick. (Pic: Bradley Photos).

As it happened another of Mogo Magic’s part-owners, Matt Cowling, won a slot in the race – two slots actually – and naturally opted to select his own horse. His second choice was Opal Ridge, the eventual runner-up.

So Dyson was left to select a horse and his major priority, being a Goulburn resident, was picking a locally-trained horse and his attention turned to Front Page.

The 2022 champion had been moved into the Goulburn stable of Matthew Dale when previous trainer Geoff Duryea retired, to be prepared for a Kosciuszko defence, and Dyson was able to snap him up.

“I know he won last year, and he’s a bit older than some of them so I was a bit nervous about it,’’ Dyson said.

“Could he do it again? I was quietly confident, I knew he’d run a great race last year and was just hoping for a repeat of that.”

And a repeat was virtually what he saw.

Tyler Schiller pounced on the lead with the seven-year-old gelding and, just as he had a year earlier, ran his rivals off their feet. That provided Dyson with a pretty easy watch for the last 25 seconds of the race.

“When you saw the colours coming down the straight in front it was just great,’’ he said.

“You never think you’re really going to win it. It’s one of those things you don’t have happen every day, just so lucky.”

Aside from a job working for a soil conservation service prior to his retirement, Dyson spent 30 years as a registered firefighter in NSW.

He started out in Wellington and has served in the Dubbo and Goulburn areas over the years.

He and he and wife Marilyn became a little invested in the exploits of Mogo Magic, through family members Tony and Nicole Neate, and that’s largely why he bought $200 worth of the $5 Kosciuszko tickets.

“We were talking with my son in law and daughter at one stage and they were buying tickets,’’ he said.

“They thought if they had a chance to win a ticket they’d take Mogo Magic because they have shares in Mogo Magic.

“I bought some at the same time, you never really expect you’re going to win and it’s a very big surprise when you do.

“From purchasing the tickets to the race it’s so overwhelming, the atmosphere and the whole lead up to the race.

“You buy one on the off chance that you may win, some do and some don’t.

“There were some mixed emotions, they were a bit disappointed of course (with Mogo Magic) but I think they were happy for me.”

It was an unexpected windfall for Dyson, who said he’s most likely to spend some of his split from the prizemoney on renovations he has planned.

He said the whole Kosciuszko experience, while quite intense at times, was amazing and is grateful to trainer Matthew Dale for keeping him in the loop about Front Page’s progress leading into the race.

“He kept us up to date with Front Page, and when he had a jump out we went and saw it. We were able to meet the horse beforehand,’’ he said.

“We’ve been to the races with Mogo Magic but Everest Day was a new level, it was first time I’ve been to the Everest.

“With the crowd it was such a big day, overwhelming with the amount of people there.

“It was just an unbelievable day, really.”

Matthew Dale with dual Kosciuszko winner Front Page (Pic: Bradley Photos).

For Dale, winning The Kosciuszko with Front Page was almost as much a relief as it was an achievement having been selected by the horse’s owners to complete that mission.

“I was given him 14 weeks out from The Kosciuszko and that was what we were setting him for,’’ Dale said.

“We had the blinkers on with one race in mind, setting him for a grand final 14 weeks out. It’s different, but we were able to nail it.

“Geoff and the team, what they’ve done with this horse before getting him to me, I’m in awe.

“They told me every little thing I needed to know so that I could be well prepped and have him as good as I could here today. It’s been a little bit stressful but, wow, what a win.”

Dale said in all his involvement with The Kosciuszko he’s seen it as important to keep the slot winners informed about their horses in the lead up to the race.

He had two people to include in communications in 2023 also having Cavalier Charles, who finished fourth for the second year running, selected for the race.

Of course, the Front Page celebrations were front and centre on the day.

But Dale was rapt to receive a message a day after The Kosciuszko from Cavalier Charles’ slot winner Paul Morris, thanking him for the experience and reporting he had a blast.

Dyson is a little more reserved, he was quite stunned after the race but in his own way he also had a blast and one thing’s for sure – he will be having another shot at The Kosciuszko in 2024.

*This article originally appeared in the November 2023 edition of the Racing NSW magazine

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