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By Ray Hickson

When Far Too Easy drew barrier one in The Kosciuszko the first thing trainer David McColm wondered was whether that was a good or a bad thing.

Trainer David McColm (Pic: Trackside)

He had the same initial reaction to his stable star coming up with 13 in the Group 2 $1 million Newcastle Herald Hunter (1300m) on Saturday.

But the only factor McColm really wanted on his side heading to Newcastle was a forgiving track and with the surface rated a soft 6 on Thursday, even allowing for some improvement going into Saturday, he’s confident Far Too Easy will have the conditions to back up his runaway Kosciuszko win.

“I just believe weight wise, the alley could have been a bit better, and with the track with a bit of give that’s ideal conditions and he’ll be rattling at the end,’’ McColm said.

“I really think he’s up to the mark, he’s going to run a really good race. I’d love to see a bit of sting out of the ground and if we get that he’ll be super.

“He has drawn badly previously and always run a good race but he’s drawn badly and it’s been on hard tracks. It just needs to be so it’s not rock hard.”

Far Too Easy, $4 with TAB on Thursday, finally won The Kosciuszko at his third attempt as jockey Craig Williams used barrier one to his advantage by stalking Front Page and having him ready to pounce.

McColm gave the Hunter ride to Kyle Wilson-Taylor as a reward for his loyalty and work with the horse and he’s looking for something of a repeat of the tactics that won him the Kosciuszko.

Ideally, he said he’ll be three or four lengths off the speed.

“I don’t know what’s in Joe Pride’s mind but I’m sure Coal Crusher will be going forward,’’ McColm said.

“As long as we can get a nice trail in behind and within striking distance we’ll be right there.

“We’ll be positive like in the Kosi. We’ll be in a stalking position, we won’t be in a leading position but we’ll be right behind them.

“At first I was a little bit disappointed but now I’ve sat down and had a look at what’s outside us, it may not be as bad as it looks on paper.

“Kyle has been associated with us for quite a while and he’s ridden the horse on a number of occasions, and he knows him.

“I’m not overly worried about that side of it, Kyle’s a good rider in his own right. He’s had to wait his turn unfortunately and we’ve rewarded him with this one.”

The six-year-old was due to contest the Hunter last year but a mishap on the water walker a couple of days out from the race forced McColm to scratch so there’s a sense of unfinished business about the race.

The long term plan is to have Far Too Easy back at Randwick to defend his Kosciuszko crown next October and McColm is going to have 2025 revolve around that race.

Far Too Easy wins The Kosciuszko

“We’ve already set in place the next Kosciuszko, everything will be mapped out around that,’’ he said.

“He’s a Magic Millions horse, so if he went into a Magic Millions Cup which he did last year it’s set weights so that’s a race that would obviously suit him. If that doesn’t pan out we’ll give him a break and bring him back for the winter carnival.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Newcastle meeting