How The Kosciuszko Came To Be
Many horse races in Australia have long and esteemed histories, with some of the biggest races in the country having been around since the mid-19th century. The Kosciuszko is not one of them, but despite that it hasn’t taken long for this race to develop into a significant one. This is the story of how The Kosciuszko came to be.
The Everest — Kosciuszko’s big brother
For many years, racing in New South Wales had been superseded by that in Victoria throughout the spring, and the majority of the biggest races in the country took place south of the border. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t suit Racing NSW, and so they hatched the idea to introduce a number of new major races. Of course, without any history or prestige attached to them, a race having a hefty prize pool was always going to be the most successful way to draw a quality field, and when The Everest was first run in 2017 it had just that.
An incredible $15 million up for grabs made The Everest the world’s richest turf race. Unsurprisingly, the 1,200-metre race was like a lightning rod to major stables and talented horses, and proved a major success among racing fans too. And so, with The Everest taking place on the same day as the Caulfield Cup in Victoria, Racing NSW set about enhancing the racecard for that meeting even further, and thus The Kosciuszko was born.
The first ever Kosciuszko
The race was run for the first time at Randwick Racecourse in 2018, acting as a support act on the same day as The Everest. The race is run over 1,200 metres - just like The Everest - but in a major point of difference, Racing NSW made it open only to country-trained horses. This allows the best sprinters from regional NSW to strut their stuff on the grandest stage, thus showcasing the quality and depth of racing throughout the state.
The very first edition of the event had backers of the favourites ripping up their tickets, and the handful of lucky punters to have backed the winner grinning from ear to ear. First past the post was Belflyer, a John Shelton-trained horse from Grafton who jumped at a massive $71.
Subsequent winners
Since that shock result in 2018, the winners have been progressively shorter priced runners. In 2019 it was Handle the Truth who took out the event having jumped at $7, beating out the favourite Victorem, who was paying $2.70 to be first past the post. In the third and most recent running of the event, the talented It’s Me lined up as a short-priced $2 chance having won three races from as many starts, and she finally rewarded backers of favourites at the event, sneaking ahead of her rivals in the shadows of the post for an impressive win.
The future of the race
The Kosciuszko is a great way to showcase racing from around the state of NSW, and gives trainers and horses from regional areas a chance to shine in a metropolitan setting in the heart of the Spring Carnival. Already, it has proven to be a great success in the three short years in which it has been on the calendar, and there’s no reason that it won’t continue to grow and prosper in the years to come.
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