Country Championships runner-up Lisztomania has an affinity with Randwick and he’ll be taking his trainer Todd Payne to The Kosciuszko with Coonabarabran’s Blake Palmer (who is pictured below with his lucky ticket) selecting the consistent gelding.
Blake Palmer was only hoping to snag a few snags and a nice steak for the barbecue, but a confusing pub raffle has unexpectedly put him in the running for a life-changing sum as a slot-holder in the $2 million The Kosciuszko race.
The 32-year-old, who works in agricultural research in Narrabri, readily admits he knows nothing about racing. He thought he was tossing $20 into a typical country pub meat-tray raffle when he bought four tickets while on a work trip in Coonabarabran. So, when his number was called, he naturally headed up to collect his expected prize.
“No steaks, no sausages . . . The guy gave me this receipt, and I said, ‘What’s this?’ He tried to tell me, and I said, ‘No, no, what about the meat tray?’” Palmer recalled.
The organiser patiently explained that he hadn’t entered a meat raffle at all. He’d won tickets in a major Racing NSW draw for The Kosciuszko, the rich country-trained horse race held over 1200m at Randwick in Sydney.
That registration proved crucial. Not long after, a representative from Racing NSW tracked him down to tell him he’d won a slot. Once the massive scale of the $2 million event was explained, Palmer—despite his zero racing knowledge—realised he needed to secure a horse.
Local Pride on the Line
Slot-holders are given contact details for trainers, but Palmer wanted to keep it local. He settled on the Inverell-trained horse Lisztomania and quickly locked in a deal with trainer Todd Payne.
“I’m from Narrabri and Inverell is only a couple of hours away, so when I saw the horse was from Inverell I thought ‘That’s local enough, I’ll try that one’,” he said.
“Todd was a great bloke and we were able to do a deal straight away.”
Palmer’s choice, Lisztomania, will be taking on the horse trained by Gundagai’s own Todd Smart. Smart, who spent his formative years in Gundagai campdrafting and working with horses before building a successful stable in Canberra, has secured a slot for his impressive galloper, So Magnificent, who enters the race as a genuine contender.
It means that when the field jumps at Randwick on October 18, it won’t just be an Inverell horse (Lisztomania) taking on a Canberra horse (So Magnificent)—it will be the Narrabri visitor’s dream against the hopes of a Gundagai Boy!
Trading Snags for Silk
Palmer has never been to Randwick or any other city track, but is looking forward to the atmosphere. “I realise it’s a chance to earn a lot of money if your horse runs well, so I’m quite happy they didn’t give me the sausages now, 100 per cent,” he chuckled.
“Even if your horse runs last, I think you get about $5000. But, honestly, I’m not thinking about the money. It’s really about the whole experience. I’ll never get another chance to do something like this.”
With his horse, Lisztomania, facing a strong field that includes the locally connected challenge from Todd Smart, Everyone will be watching to see whose country horse prevails in the $2 million showdown.
– Tully Potts
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