He's arguably the form sprinter in the region and the larrikin strappers that have dubbed him "a legend" believe Kookabaa could be their million dollar baby.
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The Thompson boys, Ben and Kurt, have helped take the six-year-old former Waller gelding from a solid country horse to a sprint star in the space of five runs for the Gulgong-based stables run by their father Brett.
Kookabaa transferred from the Gayna Williams stables in late April and has since won four races and run a second in his five runs for the Thompsons.
His last victory was in the best of his career too, winning the $50,000 Exceedance @ Vinery Handicap (1100 metres) at Canterbury Park at the beginning of August.
Wearing green and gold silks, Thompson's emerging star hit the front at the final furlong and held strong as the field swarmed late, paying $31 for the win.
And it's that victory that has the Thompsons thinking Kookabaa could be a shot in the richest race for country-trained horses anywhere in the world - if given a chance.
The $1.3 million The Kosciuszko will jump on October 17, with the every horse in the race nominated by a winner of the Kosciuszko sweepstakes. The tickets are $5 each, and the horse connections and ticket holders share in the prizemoney.
Ben Thompson believes their bay hope has done enough to earn a call-up from one of the lucky ticket-holders.
We've been doing it for a long time and to have a horse in a massive race like that on a massive day would mean the world to us, really.
- Ben Thompson
"It would mean the world to us," he said.
"You need a good horse to run in The Kosciuszko, you need to be winning in the Sydney races to be good enough to compete in that race because they're really strong horses you're against.
"We definitely think he's done enough now to get picked."
The only query the Thompsons have is whether or not to run Kookabaa again before the tickets are drawn on September 9.
"... because he's done the job now so if he goes out and runs and doesn't go good, they might not pick him up," Ben added.
Ben said the key to the gelding's incredible vein of form has to do with a change of environment. He said the stable had "found the key" to unlocking his obvious potential.
"He's a horse that's winning and a horse that's on the up ... we don't really know where he's going to stop," he said.
"But, if we don't end up getting a run in The Kosciuszko, I think the horse will go on and win races anyway."
The Thompsons train out of Gulgong, the tiny mid-west town with a population a tick of 2,500 people.
For the town, and the Thompsons, to have a runner in a million-dollar race would just about be life-changing.
"We work every day of the year, horses don't stop and we've been doing it for over 10 years as a team - me, my dad and my brother," Ben said.
"We've been doing it for a long time and to have a horse in a massive race like that on a massive day would mean the world to us, really."
Tickets can be purchased from the TAB app or from a local TAB outlet, but must be registered online.
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