Injured Swan Papley hoping to get a kick out of Getafix
By Chris Roots
Sydney small forward Tom Papley will chase a couple of wins in 24 hours this weekend as the ladder-leading Swans look to get back on track against Collingwood on Friday night before Getafix returns at Randwick on Saturday.
Unfortunately, Papley will be a spectator for both. An ankle injury has sidelined him from footy, which leaves more time for his passion for racing and assessing the chances of Getafix, which he part owns.
Tom Papley celebrates kicking a goal and hopes to be cheering home Getafix at Randwick on Saturday. Credit: Getty
“I wasn’t there when Getafix won in January, so it will be good to get to the races and see him run,” Papley said. “I have been looking forward to him coming back because he is a good horse.
“I remember his first win. I had been at a footy camp in Coffs Harbour and was driving to Byron and stopped to watch the race on the side of the road. When he won it made the rest of the trip really easy.”
Papley got into Getafix along with former Swans Paddy McCartin and Ryan Clarke on the advice of John O’Shea and Tom Charlton, who picked the son of Calyx out of the Magic Millions yard and secured him for $100,000.
They were there from the start when Getafix was bought at the night session of the sales in 2023.
“The races were called off that day and Tom got us on the table and said they might buy this horse,” Papley said. “When they bought it, we went crazy with Carl [Holt] and it has been a great ride for us since then.
“Tom has a WhatsApp for all the owners, which keeps us involved, and it’s exciting to have him back.”
Getafix has fuelled Papley’s passion for racing and given him an outlet from footy, and he is delighted to have Kerrin McEvoy riding on Saturday.
“I have a bit to do with Kerrin and we did some [training] stuff for the ATC together, which was fun,” Papley said. “But it’s just good to talk to another professional athlete in a different field.
“He is interested in my footy and I’m probably more interested in his racing, and we share things about recovery and he is a good person to talk too.
“Hopefully, we will be talking about a Getafix’s win after Saturday.”
Papley has a racing podcast called The Early Crow with Jack Dickens and spends his downtime away from training and footy doing the form.
“I have always like racing but the last two or three years I have really got into it, and doing the form is something I really enjoy,” Papley said.
“It’s good to have something like this away from footy. A lot of people want to read books and study; I just really enjoy watching replays and doing the form and trying to get it right.”
There has been early support for Getafix from $6 to $4.80 in the benchmark 72, where Invader Zim is the $2.30 favourite.
“I would have liked him to draw better, but he is going very well,” O’Shea said.
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