Last TAB Battle of the Bush slot to go on the line at Thangool

By Jordan Gerrans

With just one slot left in the 2021 TAB Battle of the Bush Final, a Dalby stable is banking on recent form across the series being the decider this Saturday at Thangool.

Apprentice hoop Angela Jones has arguably been the rider of the series so far, claiming two heats, and gets her chance to make it a treble with the in-form Miss Bulitz for Dalby trainer David Reynolds (pictured).

For Reynolds, he is shooting for his second entrant in the big final on Tattersall’s Tiara Raceday at Eagle Farm as stable-mate Rather Salubrious proved too strong in the Goondiwindi qualifier earlier. 

The Jones-Reynolds combination are confident the four-year-old mare is a big chance in Saturday’s Thangool heat after not being outside the money in her last eight trips to the races.

“Angela is riding outstanding at the moment, riding like a superstar getting two horses in the Battle of the Bush Final so far,” Reynolds said of the 20-year-old rider. 

“She has been riding a fair bit for me lately.”

Jones’ two previous heat wins came at Charters Towers with bush champion Fab’s Cowboy and Rather Salubrious for Reynolds.

Jones is completing her apprenticeship in Toowoomba with experienced trainer Lindsay Hatch.

Reynolds, who has a team of around 18 in work at Dalby, goes to Saturday’s Thangool heat with two chances, Miss Bulitz and Music Scene.

Music Scene is a BOTB veteran, going around in the Final last year without much luck before being first emergency in the first ever running of the popular series.

“Miss Bulitz is the better of the two at the moment going into this heat, Music Scene has been a little bit off of late,” Reynolds said.

“Miss Bulitz will go very close, I think.”

Reynolds’ stable apprentice Shannyn Stephan will partner Music Scene to try and qualify the gelding for his third BOTB tilt.

Rather Salubrious is a regular in town also, finishing third in the Country Cups Challenge last year to Mareeba’s Paniagua.

“They are awesome concepts,” Reynolds, who lives on a 450-acre farm at Dalby, said.

“I am involved in the Queensland trainer’s association and we have pushed for this kind of stuff for a while, as well as the country series races at Toowoomba this week.

“This gives the trainers a bit of a kick and it helps us keep owners.”

Despite the four-hour drive between Thangool and Dalby, Reynolds’ team is a regular at the track, declaring he will travel wherever he needs to go to win a race.

“All we do is drive, we are pretty lucky as Dalby is pretty central to most of the tracks, to the east, west and south,” he said.

While four hours is a lengthy drive to get to the races, veteran Goondiwindi trainer Peter Clarke was planning to spend over six hours on the road to get to Thangool this Saturday.

Clarke had Midnight Matinee nominated for the Thangool heat, after running second in a BOTB qualifier last Saturday at Gayndah, but has since made the decision to head to Toowoomba this Saturday evening with the galloper instead.

“I would not normally travel my horses that far to Thangool but I wanted to get him into the Battle of the Bush Final,” Clarke said.

“That was the go.

“A few things could not be worked out and we will now go to Toowoomba on Saturday night instead.”

Click here to read a full copy of the series conditions.