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By Ray Hickson

A couple of guys who drive a garbage truck throw together a motley bunch of family and friends to try their luck at being part of the richest country race in the world with just $500 worth of tickets.

Kosciuszko slot winner John Hurley (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Not only does one of those tickets then have to be among the 14 sweepstakes winners, you also have to select the right horse.

It all sounds unlikely. But not only was Queanbeyan’s John Hurley and his group part of the $2 million The Kosciuszko they came up trumps by selecting Front Page as their runner - so it’s safe to say he’s going to have no trouble filling a syndicate or two for 2023.

Hurley’s syndicate comprised Michelle Winter, Jack Hurley, Kayla Hurley, Mark Dorman, Andrew Dorman, Kim Mulligan, Wayne Kaye, Jim Cullen, Brian Cannan and Mark Laing – all either family or social connections.

History shows Front Page, trained at Corowa by Geoff Duryea, led all the way in the 1200m sprint to provide Hurley and his crew an Everest Day moment they’ll never forget.

Hurley, 62, said the whole experience at Royal Randwick was surreal but, as he’s done for the last five years, he was back in the garbage truck at 3am on the Monday after the Kosciuszko, driving around the Australian National University area, thinking about how it all happened.

“We’ve brought tickets every year but never to the extent of this year,’’ Hurley said.

“My wife and I would buy four or five each. I work with one of the guys, Kim Mulligan, and we all threw in $50.

“We had nine people so I thought I’d throw in $50 for my son and daughter so we’d make it up to $500. It was just the right amount.

“I didn’t have a lot of hope when I put them on but I always had the philosophy of if you’ve got a ticket you’ve got a chance.”

Front Page’s Kosciuszko journey is a story in itself, he was selected by a syndicate from the William Farrar Hotel at Wagga Wagga in both 2020 and 2021 only to be scratched close to the race in both years due to injury.

It was because Front Page was popular with the William Farrar, and on the back of an easy Wagga Town Plate win earlier this year, Hurley said one of the syndicate members raised the gelding as an ideal selection after being unable to secure the 2019 winner Handle The Truth.

“He was gone within half an hour of when we were informed we’d won a slot,’’ he said.

“I gave Geoff a ring about Front Page. He was pretty succinct, he said we’ll do all the hard work and you blokes can have your share.”

What’s been a staple of The Kosciuszko journey is stories of the slot winners being treated somewhat like owners by the stables of the horses they select in the lead up to the big race.

Kim Mulligan, Jim Cullen, Brian Cannen, Wayne Kaye, Mark Laing and John Hurley - some of the 2022 Kosciuszko winning syndicate. (Pic: Bradley Photos)

Hurley said the Duryea stable and the horse’s owners were no exception, making the syndicate feel welcome, and while they didn’t meet Front Page in the flesh until race day they turned up at Royal Randwick confident everything had been done to ensure the horse was ready.

“I met Geoff at the races, he’s a nice fellow and his family is very nice,’’ he said.

“His wife Maureen kept us informed with his trackwork, his jump outs and how he was going. I’d share the information with everyone else and it was pretty easy.

“The first time I saw him was in the Theatre Of The Horse. A couple of the boys went to have a look at him at the stalls, they were a little bit nervous.”

Nobody expected Front Page to lead the Kosciuszko and while he ran the race at a solid tempo there weren’t too many anxious moments as apprentice Tyler Schiller urged him home first.

“I’d watched his run in the Wagga Town Plate and once he got to the lead there they couldn’t catch him so I wasn’t too worried,’’ Hurley said.

“I was worried he might get tired towards the end but he had that little extra kick which was enough to get him home.

“It was a good watch, we loved watching it, he looked like the winner the whole way. I don’t think they could have asked for a better track, better day, better horse, a better jockey, a better syndicate.”

Hurley will be a grandfather for the first time in late November when his son Jack, who was part of the syndicate, and daughter-in-law Kate welcome their first child.

As over 46,000 people created an unforgettable atmosphere for TAB Everest Day, Hurley said there was some concern after the win that Kate might find it all a bit emotional but she insisted on being a part of what will no doubt be a story the child is told many times over.

Hurley has been a horse owner but Front Page was the first time he’d had an ‘interest’ in a runner at Randwick, counting wins at places like Bungendore and Gundagai as places he’d tasted victory.

“We’ve never had anything run up at Randwick, we’ve been to most country tracks,’’ he said.

“It was just mayhem. I can see why young Kate was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. We knew it would be busy but she didn‘t want to miss out.

Front Page wins the Kosciuszko (Pic: Steve Hart)

“We didn’t do much at all that night, because Kate was eight months pregnant we left after race six and went back to the hotel and had a few drinks and some dinner.

“We were pretty quiet but the others kicked on, they ended up back at the Coogee Bay Hotel.”

If a winning ticket is drawn from the Karabar TAB in 2023 there’d be some chance it’ll be Hurley and his group because, understandably, you can guarantee they’ll spend more than $500 and who knows how much the syndicate will expand.

Especially if the early reaction to being part of winning a $2 million race is any indication.

“I’ve already had people say ‘why didn’t you ask me’,’’ he said.

“It was a spur of the moment organisation, it wasn’t like we put out feelers or anything. I’m sure I’ll be beating them away with a stick next year.”

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

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