Sat around a table at the Centennial Hotel in Gulgong on Wednesday afternoon, surrounded by forms and other indiscriminate pieces of paper, a group of mates debate the merits of a number of country trainers and their horses.
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The conversation is serious because there's so much on the line. $1.3 million to be exact.
The Super Six punters club syndicate was one of the 14 lucky winners of a slot in The Kosciuszko, the richest race for country-trained horses in the world.
The 14 slot holders pick a NSW or ACT country-trained horse to contest the race at Royal Randwick on October 17 and earn fair slice of any winnings as well.
The Gulgong group, after some deliberation, went with the Brett Cavanough-trained Fender, an exciting four-year-old gelding which has one each of its four career starts.
The Super Six group is made up of mates from Mudgee and Gulgong and Wednesday was a scarcely believable one for each of them.
"It's like Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory, I say, we've got the golden ticket," Super Six member Ray Pitt said.
We checked the numbers, we went 'we got it', I cuddled him, he cuddled me - all the school kids are like 'what are they doing?
- Steve Haney
Gulgong-based syndicate member and schoolteacher Steve Haney was on his lunch break at the time the tickets were drawn and said he couldn't believe it when he got the news.
"One of the blokes rang me and told me to check the ticket number - I told Bill [Egan], 'go to my house, the key's in the front door, look in the top drawer, don't touch the tickets and come back.'
"We checked the numbers, we went 'we got it', I cuddled him, he cuddled me - all the school kids are like 'what are they doing?'"
"Everyone was in shock today because I do a lot of practical jokes on people, ringing me, telling me to get stuffed, saying 'show me proof' and that sort of thing."
"People said 'nah, I won't go in, you won't win'. Then they're ringing up today asking 'you sure I didn't give you twenty?'," Haney said.
Now the attention turns towards Fender, one of two hopes Scone-based Cavanaough had chosen on Wednesday.
"Look, it's a go-er of an event for country trainers and punters as well, we're all involved. It's a gala event, the party starts now and ends in five weeks' time," Cavanough said.
"He (Fender) is in good form, he's unbeaten, we're not too sure where his level of ability is at.
We're just poking along at the moment, the horse is doing everything right and he's got above-average ability.
- Brett Cavanough on Fender, the syndicate's selection
"We don't know where his ceiling is at yet. We're just poking along at the moment, the horse is doing everything right and he's got above-average ability."
Only two of the 14 slots were left open on Thursday afternoon.
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