The Kosciuszko Preview and Tips 19/10/24

We are treated to a massive Saturday of racing, with five key races, including three Group One races, to feast on. The Kosciuszko, a special conditions race similar to that of The Everest, is one of the major races this weekend. The Kosciuszko may not be a Group One race, but it attracts the attention of many racing fans.

Other than The Kosciuszko, we have The Everest, The Silver Eagle and the King Charles III Stakes to be raced at Randwick Racecourse. On top of those four races, there’s also action at Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday with the Caulfield Cup. 

My Saturday tips for The Kosciuszko are off of the presses, so get while the going is good! OnlyRacing is your go-to place for horse racing best bets and more. I’ve put together five tips for The Kosciuszko, so let’s see which runners I think are in for a good run on Saturday.

Reckon the pre-race favourite, Front Page will get out of the blocks and lead early. Kreon may look to keep Front Page company out the front. Another one of the more favoured runners, Far Too Easy may ease back from barrier one to get some cover and not do any work in the beginning.

The race will be run at a fairly decent tempo, as we have come to expect over the past few years. Can the favourite, Front Page lead from post to post? Well, we will find out soon, but I think he does have a fairly good chance of that. 

Front Page is going for the trifecta of wins here in The Kosciuszko after winning in 2022 and then again in 2023. With that type of record, it’s no wonder he is the current favourite for the race. He is paying $2.50, at the time of writing, to win The Kosciuszko, thanks to our friends at PlayUp.

Front Page hasn’t raced since May, but we saw him in a trial earlier this month. Looking back at his previous two victories, they were both pretty dominant, but this year seems like a more difficult challenge. He tackles this one first-up where he has a decent record of 9:5-1-1 and the barrier draw was kind. Will look to lead the entire way here.

I reckon Far Too Easy has a really good shot at winning this one and he is currently on the second line of betting with Bet365, at $4.40. In my eyes, Far Too Easy is another winning chance and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him turn the tables on Front Page, after finishing second to him in The Kosciuszko in 2023.

Last year he had to overcome a wide barrier but managed to finish 2.3L off Front Page. This year the barrier draw was kind and he jumps from barrier one. Far Too Easy has started to shorten up, with odds of $6.50 available yesterday. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him shorten even further, so it’s probably a good idea to jump on now if you’re interested.

If you want value then look no further than Tanglewood. He’s a lightly raced 5YO that I think can give The Kosciuszko a red-hot crack at a juicy each-way price. Tanglewood is currently paying $26 to win The Kosciuszko, thanks to Dabble. This is undoubtedly a step up but this is value I just can’t pass up on.

Won when fresh at Kensington and he also ran the fastest last 200m of the card, so that sets him up for a good run here. Steps up to 1,200m now which I think suits him well, if his last start efforts are anything to go by. Has been back at the trials since then and that was a good effort. Will need some luck, but a top-three finish is certainly on the cards.

I think Gallant Star is a little unloved in the market and I’m not exactly sure why. I’m putting him down as my danger for The Kosciuszko on Saturday. Won first-up and hasn’t missed a podium in four starts here at Randwick. I reckon he presents a really solid winning chance at really decent odds. He is currently paying $11.50 to win with QuestBet.

Drops down in weight after his win last time out and he maps well to get a similar run this Saturday. Jason Collett takes over the reins this time, jumping from barrier 10. He is a two-time winning second-up and has won at this track and trip before. There’s a lot to like about Gallant Star.

Boy, oh boy! This boy is shortening like crazy. At Witz End opened with odds of $34 and now we are getting $23 for him to win the race, thanks to Bet Right. He’s my throw at the stumps and I’m forgiving his run last time out as he is not the best first-up horse going around. He will be all the fitter for that run under his belt and now it’s time to shine.

There’s a lot of value around the 9YO and I hope he can get firmer ground at Randwick because that will be more to his liking. His trial win at Ballina was excellent and it shows the kind of mood he is in. I’m not convinced he can win this, but it wouldn’t shock me to see him snag a top-three finish.

All my The Kosciuszko horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Front Page (win)	$2.50
	Far Too Easy (each-way)	$4.40/$1.85
	Tanglewood (place)	$6.00
	Gallant Star (each-way)	$11.50/3.30
	At Witz End (place)	$5.25