After running third in The Kosciuszko (1200m) 12 months ago, the David McColm-trained Far Too Easy ($4.80) has claimed the $2 million feature at Randwick on Saturday afternoon.
The well-supported favourite Front Page ($2.50) was on the brink of a hat-trick of wins in the country showcase, with James McDonald bowling along on speed to put two lengths on his rivals turning for home.
It turned out to be an ideal tactic for Craig Williams aboard Far Too Easy, gaining the back of Front Page every step of the way before peeling off his back with 300m left to travel.
Nothing was making inroads on the top two in the market, with Far Too Easy getting his redemption after a luckless run in the 2023 edition, storming over the top to score by 2.2 lengths.
Tanglewood ($18.00) and Boom Torque ($8.00) were there to fight out the minor money, but it was all about the winner as Far Too Easy produced a career highlight for trainer David McColm, as he spoke to the achievement and what it means post-race.
2024 The Kosciuszko Replay – Far Too Easy
“My dream has come true and not just for us, for this horse, he’s been such a special animal to all of us and he deserves his name in the Kosciuszko record books,” said an emotional McColm.
“We’ve been through a lot with this horse, he’s had his ups and downs. This year he got very ill and I never ever thought we’d be back for another Kosciuszko tilt.
“But he’s come through the day and he’s just, he’s done what he does and that is he tries.
“My vet put in many, many hours; midnight he would turn up. So the whole ordeal was, you know, it was, it was terrible to be a part of at that time, but he’s such a fighter.
“All credit to Craig (Williams); he jumped on a plane, he flew up from Melbourne, you know, a lot of jockeys don’t do that.
“He took the initiative, he wanted to be a part of it and he wanted to see what he was like in the barriers and it paid dividends today.”
Craig Williams was delighted with the performance and credited everyone involved in getting Far Too Easy back on track.
“David (McColm) gave me the confidence,” said Williams.
“I rode the horse the other day and I just said to David, ‘This horse is flying.”
“I rang him afterwards to make sure the horse is going well. He’s really happy with the weather they have there. I know he’s even adopted his plans because I had Michael Cahill as a backup to help me out one morning.
“I can only ride the product that I have. But I was that confident in the horse and well done to David and his team. That horse is such a nice horse, and it’s great to win such a big race on such a big race day around Australia.
“That second horse is a really good horse. So it’s no mean feat.
“He made us half-a-kilo better than beating us last year. But today our horse was just in the right shape. He just delivered, and he made my job very easy. So thanks to the people behind the horse for doing a fantastic job.”
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