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By Mark Brassel

Murwillumbah-trained Far Too Easy, a member of a three-horse stable, has been installed equal favourite for the $500,000 Newhaven Park Country Championships Final (1400m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday 2nd April.

The gelding is prepared by relatively unknown trainer David McColm and is the $8 joint favourite in TAB’s market alongside the Cody Morgan-trained Edit.

Far Too Easy has raced on seven occasions for four wins (Grafton twice, Gold Coast and Doomben) but put himself into the big picture with a slashing fourth to King of Sparta in the recent Gold Coast Guineas, coming from well back on the home turn.

Murwillumbah trainer David McColm with stable star Far Too Easy. Image supplied

His trainer David McColm has already knocked back some lucrative offers for the son of All Too Hard saying “fast horses are hard to get hold of”.

“The offers were quite substantial but we’re not really into selling at this stage,” McColm said.

“It’s just my mate [Don Wardlaw] and I in the horse; we’ve been racing horses for decades.”

McColm’s best horse was way back with Spirit of Oregon who won 10 races from 44 starts including successive wins in the Kilcoy and Gatton Cups.

The gelding was placed in a Listed race when beaten a nose by Dynamic Blaze in the Reckless Stakes at Eagle Farm in June 1999, at his penultimate start.

But McColm, 61, was forced to give up training horses 13 years ago: “I had a bleed on the brain and was diagnosed with a cavernoma. It took a couple of years to get over it.”

He now runs a successful pest control business and trains the talented Our Rebel, a winner of four races from nine starts, and unraced two-year-old Flying Mikki.

Equal favourite in the Country Championships is Edit who was an eye-catcher in The Kosciuszko at Royal Randwick last spring, coming from 14th spot at the turn to finish fourth to Art Cadeau.

The former Kiwi galloper has only raced nine times for three wins (Ellerslie, Pukekohe and Tamworth) and two second placings.

The remainder of the TAB market is: $11 Akasawa, Another One, Arnaqueur; $15 Banju, Ten Bells, Zoo Station; $21 Ahead Start, Brave Enough, Molly Nails, Patino Ruby, Sunrise Ruby, $26+ others.

Akasawa, trained by Paul Messara, won on debut at Muswellbrook before beaten a nose at that course. He has since strung together victories at Mudgee, Scone and Newcastle.

Meanwhile, the Walcha Cup Carnival commences this Friday with the running of the $45,000 Cup and $35,000 Lightning followed the next day by a five-race non-TAB program.

UPCOMING NSW COUNTRY RACE MEETINGS
Monday: Dubbo
Tuesday: Grafton
Thursday: Albury
Friday: Walcha
Saturday: Gilgandra, Walcha (non-TAB), Braidwood (non-TAB)
Sunday: Goulburn, Port Macquarie