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By Greg Prichard

Gallant Star is being set to contest The Kosciuszko first-up from a spell to give the six-year-old gelding his best chance of staying sharp enough to win a race full of top country-trained sprinters.

There’s no doubt Gallant Star has the quality, which is why he is the third favourite for the race at $8 in the TAB market.

The challenge for him will be the sprint distance as he gets a little bit older, but his Dubbo-based trainer Brett Robb has devised a plan to give Gallant Star his best chance of winning.

The $2 million The Kosciuszko will be run over 1200 metres at Randwick on October 18.

Punters can go in the draw to have a horse run for them in The Kosciuszko by purchasing sweepstakes tickets at $5 each through the TAB app, tab.com.au, your local pub and club and at race meetings.

Brett Robb and Gallant Star (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Ticket sales close at 11.59pm on Monday, September 8, and the 14 slot-holders will be drawn at 10am on Wednesday, September 10. They can then do a deal on a prizemoney split with the connections of eligible runners trained in the NSW country or ACT.

Gallant Star has an impressive race record and is obviously prominent in the market for the race, so it is understandable Robb is prepared to gamble that a slot-holder will select the horse without it having to “audition” in a race start ahead of the main event.

Robb said he would rely on Gallant Star’s increasingly good record of being able to show speed when racing first-up from a spell and win - including over a distance even shorter than the 1200 metres of The Kosciuszko.

“We’re definitely aiming at the ‘Kozzie’ and ‘Gal’ will go in first-up off two barrier trials,” he said.

“They’ll be at Narromine on September 22 and Dubbo on October 3.

“He’s a horse that needs a little bit further than 1200 once he gets into a campaign, which is why we’re going first-up.

“We went into The Kosciuszko second-up last year and afterwards we thought the one lead-up run might’ve made him a little bit dour, you know.

“It definitely becomes harder for a horse like him over 1200 as he gets a bit older, but he’s gone well first-up in his last two campaigns and won each time.

“He used to go better second-up, but he seems to be going better fresh now so we’ll run with that and try to keep some fresh legs under him.

“I can’t guarantee it’ll make the difference on Kosciuszko day, but I’ve got no doubt it’s our best bet and I also know he’s still a very good horse, so that’s the plan.”

Gallant Star was sharp enough to lead before bolting away to an easy win in the WRA Country Championships Qualifier over 1400 metres when first-up in the autumn.

And last spring, in the best indicator for the plan Robb is going with now, Gallant Star powered home to easily win first-up over 1100 metres at Dubbo.

Gallant Star went on to finish sixth in last year’s The Kosciuszko at what was his first start in the feature event.

Buy your tickets in The Kosciuszko sweepstakes here - anyone can win!