Wagga sprinter O’ So Hazy has secured her place in the field for the $1.3 million Kosciuszko (1200m).
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Wagga trainer Scott Spackman and connections signed a deal with a Sydney-based slot holder Eamon Gormley just hours before Wednesday’s 4pm deadline.
It means the Wagga mare will line up alongside the best sprinters in country NSW on Everest day, October 13, at Royal Randwick for a share in $1.3 million in prizemoney.
Spackman said securing a place in the inaugural field was the biggest result of his training career.
“It’s the biggest coup for Spackman Racing that I’ve ever seen,” Spackman said from Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
“It’s everything. It means everything to us to be regarded among the top 12 sprinters in country NSW racing.
“I honestly believe she deserves to be there.”
O’ So Hazy had her final run before the Kosciuszko at Warwick Farm on Wednesday, where she finished 11th.
It was on his way to Warwick Farm where Spackman was first contacted by the Sydney-based slot holder.
Gormley had only spent $5 on one ticket and had not been able to find it after the slots were drawn last Friday.
After being provided with a list of potential horses by Racing NSW, Gormley spotted O’ So Hazy, who he had backed and won on before.
The story only gets better as the reason he had backed O’ So Hazy in the past was due to a mate of his nicknamed ‘Hazy’.
Gormley and connections were quick to come to an agreement and the paperwork was signed before her run at Warwick Farm.
Spackman did not want to disclose the prizemoney split that was agreed to but said both parties were happy with the agreement.
O’ So Hazy, owned by Noel and Maria Penfold, along with Neville Murdoch, was considered the best chance of a Southern District horse gaining a start in the race after she finished third in this year’s $500,000 Country Championships Final (1400m) in April.
O’ So Hazy’s booking gives Wagga an even larger stake in the race after the William Farrer Hotel’s Super Punters Club drew a slot and negotiated a deal with favourite Care To Think.
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