When Paul Duryea walks to the horse stalls before tomorrow’s Kosciuszko, Front Page will look at him like any other punter in the sell-out Randwick crowd – until he opens his mouth.
″Once I talk he knows who I am and gets excited,″ Duryea said of the two-time Kosciuszko winner.
Jockey Tyler Schiller prepares to salute as Front Page takes out The Kosciuszko last year.Credit: Getty
“We had him at my place since he was a foal and he did everything there until he was ready to go to dad’s at Corowa. Even though he has been at Matt Dale’s for a couple of years he still knows me.”
Duryea brought Front Page up in a paddock behind his house and was his companion and strapper when he was trained by his father, Geoff. Paul strapped Front Page as he picked up the $1 million prize.
“He is just a special horse to us,” Duryea said. “We just wanted a horse that we could win a couple of races with and have fun, but we got a lot more. I strapped him nearly every start when dad was training and I travelled him to Melbourne and Adelaide for the Goodwood. He has paid off some mortgages. Ithas been unbelievable.”
But the horse that has won more than $2.6 million in prizemoney might have never been born.
Duryea still can’t believe the dam, Stacey Lee, made it through the year she had Front Page.
“She was in foal and she rolled in the paddock but was too close to the fence and pretty much ripped everything off her leg other than the bone,” Duryea said. “We took her to the vets and they said it’s not repairable you have to put her down and we said no. She was one of the toughest horses we had had and we knew if any horse was going to get through it, it would be her.
“We got a second opinion and they said to put her down. So we hunted to find a vet nurse to look after her and we found Suzanne Royal at Asscher Park.
“She said she could save the mare but didn’t think the foal would survive, because she was only just pregnant. She saved Stacey Lee’s life and leg and we got the foal.”
Front Page possesses his mother toughness and a high-end speed that has seen him win seven of 24 starts, including a Wagga Town Plate, and he has also been placed in The Galaxy, but Duryea remembers the first win.
“The first time he ran was in an Albury maiden and it was the first country boost maiden for $40,000,” Duryea said. “On Tuesday, he worked with News Girl and finished with her. She was going to Caulfield for a race the same day, so we were fairly confident he could win.
“They bet $5 at the start and he finished up even-money and won.”
There won’t be any $5 about Front Page when he looks to when the Kosciuszko for the third time. He is a $2.40 favourite
“A lot of people will say he is eight years old now, but he has only had 24 starts,” Duryea said. “He has never had a major injury. Immaturity held him back early on, and he is there now. Matt has done a wonderful job with him and James McDonald rides him, which is incredible. But when he finishes he will come home.”
