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By Ray Hickson

It’s almost like it was meant to be.

The fairytale of Far Too Easy’s win in the $2 million The Kosciuszko (1200m) extends beyond the well publicised miraculous recovery of the horse himself from a bad bout of colitis, and the work trainer David McColm and his team did to get him to Randwick, all the way to the slot holders who cheered him home.

A group of 52 from the Tattersall’s Hotel at Inverell went along for the ride with McColm and the owners and according to syndicate manager, and publican, Scott Williams it all just fell into place.

It was the second successive year Williams had won a slot, putting together a group from the Hotel who spent $50 each in their initial attempt.

Some of the Tattersall's Hotel Kosciuszko slot winners (l-r) Justin Oakenful, Dick Gleeson, Dominic Wardlaw (owner), Jack Brown, Mary Wardlaw (owner), Al Foran, Scott Williams, Sean Taylor, Pete McLachlan and trainer David McColm. (Pic: Bradley Photos:

In 2023 they selected the then Cody Morgan-trained Talbragar but were left without a horse when he had to be scratched and they quickly partnered with Albury trainer Donna Scott and Our Last Cash.

The horse didn’t have a lot of luck, he started $51 after drawing gate 13 and ran a respectable eighth behind Front Page after turning last.

Williams said he was much better prepared in 2024.

“This year I went through the night before and wrote down the top 15 in betting with the trainers and their phone numbers and was standing there watching the draw,’’ Williams said.

“I was on the ball and got in straight away.”

The first person he called was Matthew Dale. Front Page was the favourite. Voicemail.

The second person he tried was David McColm. Far Too Easy was second in the market but he’d also tried a year earlier without success. Bingo.

“I liked Far Too Easy but we decided as a group we’d start at the favourite and work our way down,’’ he said.

“So I rang David straight away and did the deal pretty quick because he remembered me from last year. As soon as I hung up from David, Matty Dale rang me back.

“He said we were first in line but he had to wait to see if the owners won a slot, he said we were first in line and ‘the horse is yours if you want him’ but I said I already had one.”

It’s not lost on Williams, who was once a trainer himself, the touch of irony in Far Too Easy and Front Page settling down to fight out The Kosciuszko finish.

A little while before the 14 winning slot holders were drawn, McColm had publicly expressed that the only way Far Too Easy could beat Front Page was if he wasn’t conceding the sort of start that saw him run into second place in 2022 and third last year from impossible positions.

So he hatched the plan to teach the horse to race closer. Craig Williams went to the Gold Coast to ride him in a trial and test out his barrier prowess then the gelding drew barrier one.

Williams said that made him a bit nervous but McColm was adamant one was better than the barrier of 12 that he was handed 12 months earlier. All they needed now was a forgiving track.

“I kept in touch with David ever since the day we drew the slot,’’ Williams said.

“Exactly what he said was exactly what happened. Last year he blamed himself, he got too far back and it was physically impossible on a firm track to run Front Page down.

“He said he wanted him to be three or four lengths closer. It would make his task easier.

“One of the owners did a long range weather forecast and they were predicting a bit of rain and they said they’d love a soft 7. When the rain came it was like it was meant to be.

“Everything just worked out well. The weather, the barrier, the jockey – Craig had a big day. Heaps of people at the pub backed Bella Nipotina too.”

The day after The Kosciuszko, Williams was back in Inverell and back behind the bar. He’d flown to Armidale from Sydney and drove the rest of the way, returning to a hero’s reception.

Far Too Easy finally gets his Kosciuszko win (Pic: Steve Hart).

The group hasn’t made millions from their Kosciuszko experience but they did pretty well – each will receive around $6500 and with that came the experience of ‘owning’ a winner on TAB Everest Day.

And you couldn’t miss those that made the trip in their green ‘Far Too Easy’ caps.

There will be a proper celebration in Inverell with plans in place for McColm, and The Kosciuszko trophy, to make the trip to Inverell where there’s sure to be plenty of photo opportunities with their now celebrity trainer and the silverware. That happened earlier this month.

“We might have our punter’s club party that day and have a luncheon. Everyone’s talking about it,’’ he said.

“It’s a really diverse crowd in the syndicate. We’ve got a couple of older ladies that follow the horses, property owners, tradies, business people, all different sorts of people it’s amazing.

“We were going to cut it at 50 people but a couple of extras came in. We spent $100 each. Last year it was $50 each. After what happened it was worth it.

“I talked to people when I got back and they said you could hear it down the main street. I think they all feel like owners.”

Surely it’s a guarantee the Tattersall’s Hotel will again make a play for a slot in 2025. Williams said he wonders if lightning can strike three times but considering the popularity of their win you’d say it’s a given.

“The whole concept is unbelievable,’’ he said.

“The amount of people that came up to me after we won a slot asking ‘how do we get into this Kosciuszko’ was amazing. People you wouldn’t expect, just coming off the street who aren’t even regular pub goers.

“It’s great for country racing.”

*This article originally appeared in the November 2024 edition of the Racing NSW magazine

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