‘You’ve got to be in it to win it’: The stars who cheering on Gallant Star at Randwick
When acclaimed actor John Howard was studying at the University of NSW, he was getting an education at the race track. He will return to Royal Randwick for The Kosciuszko to cheer on contender, Gallant Star.
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When acclaimed Aussie actor John Howard made some of his first visits to Royal Randwick, he was meant to be somewhere else — the nearby university lecture hall.
Howard, known for his distinguished stage career and work on TV hits such as All Saints and Packed To The Rafters, was studying at the University Of NSW — but getting his education at the nearby racecourse.
“I was right at Randwick (where the university is located) so on Wednesdays I would be down there (at the track). That was my lecture,” Howard, 71, told The Daily Telegraph.
“It explains why I am an actor and not a doctor or lawyer but I just like the whole business of it and am fascinated by everything about it.”
This Saturday, Howard will return to the famous Sydney racetrack when he teams up with former Australian cricketer Kerry O’Keeffe in a bid to win the $2 million The Kosciuszko.
O’Keeffe is a part owner of Kosciuszko contender Gallant Star, who was selected by Howard to run in his slot for the coveted country event on The Everest day.
Fourteen slot holders for The Kosciuszko are drawn out at random from a pool of race fans who purchased tickets into the raffle.
Howard watches racing every day and considers himself a ‘small time punter’ but had never bought tickets into the draw until this year.
“For some reason one day I just said bugger it, you’ve got to be in it to win it,” he said.
“It was a real surprise when I got the call.”
Howard went out to Dubbo to watch Gallant Star, known around the barn as ‘Gal’, in his final lead up run to The Kosciuszko. He spent the day with Gallant Star’s Dubbo-based trainer Brett Robb and the gelding’s other owner David Ringland.
“I had a serious talk with Gallant Star after he won at Dubbo,” Howard joked.
“You have to speak to horses mentally because they don’t respond all that much to talk.
“I told him what I expected of him and he understood because he turned around and showed me his bum. That to me was him showing that’s what he was going to show to the rest of the field.”
Gallant Star will be hard to miss in The Kosciuszko.
The country galloper wears O’Keeffe’s personalised black and pink silks with a skull in the middle — a nod to the cricketer’s nickname.
O’Keeffe has been a regular spectator in Sydney during Gallant Star’s short but successful career, including a second at Randwick in April.
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Originally published as ‘You’ve got to be in it to win it’: The stars who cheering on Gallant Star at Randwick
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