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By Greg Prichard

Jim Hegarty went in on his own and spent just $50 on 10 tickets in The Kosciuszko slot draw and after thinking he may have won a “booby prize” he found out it was the real thing and lined up I’ve Bean Tryin’ to run for him in the big race.

It was the first time he had ever bought tickets in the draw and now he can’t wait until he goes back to the races for the first time in 20 years to watch The Kosciuszko unfold over the 1200 metres at Randwick on October 14.

“I’ve spent $50 and I’m in a $2 million race,” Hegarty said.

Jim Hegarty (second from right) with family celebrating granddaughter Billie's birthday.

“If the horse wins it’ll be like winning Lotto, there’s no doubt about it.”

Hegarty, 68, is a retired Information Technology expert from Concord West in inner Sydney who describes himself as a small punter who bets for entertainment and loves watching the races.

“I’m a $5 and $10 punter,” he said. “I’ll sit there in front of the TV on Saturday watching Sky Racing and I’ve got my bets down and a percentage in the quaddie and to me it’s fun.

“I’d known about The Kosciuszko all along, of course, but I’d never actually bought tickets. But I had a little bit of money in my TAB account, I’d managed to back a few winners, so I thought ‘what the heck’, I’ll try my hand at it and use some of that to buy a few tickets.

“I got a text message from Scott Kennedy at Racing NSW on the day of the slot draw and when I rang him back he said, ‘you obviously know about The Kosciuszko race, you’ve won’.

“I said, ‘you’re not going to tell me I won a slot’. I thought I was going to get a booby prize of some sort. You know, ‘you missed out on the main prize, but here’s a ticket to Randwick races’, something like that. But Scott said, ‘you’ve won a slot, you’re one of the 14’.

“You could’ve knocked me down with the proverbial feather, because I didn’t have any real expectations. When you buy 10 tickets in something like that you’re not really thinking you’re a big chance to win.

“But to me that’s the beauty of the whole Kosciuszko concept, because it’s like the little punter’s dream.

"I’ve heard stories about people buying $15,000 worth of tickets and good luck to them, right, but I could never afford to do that. So for me it was just a terrific outcome.”

Hegarty said that after learning of his good fortune he immediately decided to avoid the mad rush for horses at the top of the TAB Fixed Odds betting market and instead check on the form of other likely contenders.

“I wasn’t expecting to win a slot, so when I found out I had a bit of research to do,” he said.

“I narrowed it down to Akasawa and I’ve Bean Tryin’ and Akasawa was already gone so I went for I’ve Bean Tryin’. It was a toss-up between the two horses in my mind anyway.

“I rang his trainer, Matthew Kelley, and introduced myself as a slot-holder and said, ‘Are you interested in running your horse?’. He was very interested. I think he was even more excited than I was.

“I liked the fact it had some good city form and I watched some of its races and it struck me as being a very honest horse that tries hard every time it runs. And what appealed to me about Matt is that he’s a young guy, he’s only been training for 14 months and he’s very keen.”

I've Bean Tryin's trainer Matthew Kelley (Pic: Bradley Photos).

I’ve Bean Tryin’, which finished third in the Country Championships final at Randwick in the autumn, is a $15 chance with TAB Fixed Odds.

Hegarty said he and his wife, Rhonda, had three married daughters and three grand-children, with another on the way, and that his offspring and theirs would benefit if I’ve Bean Tryin’ won or placed high in The Kosciuszko.

“My daughters and their husbands have all got mortgages and there are the kids to get through school and college,” he said.

“I think they’ll be the big winners if I’ve Bean Tryin’ can win. It’s every parent’s dream to be able to make things better for your kids and your grandkids.

“I’m taking my wife and two grand-kids and their parents to The Kosciuszko race-day. I love horse racing, but I’ve never owned a horse. When I was younger I used to go to the track fairly regularly, but I haven’t been to the races for 20 years.

"I can’t lose, so I’m just focusing on enjoying the ride.”

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