Latest news with #BattleOfTheBush
News.com.au
11 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
75-year-old Goondiwindi legend Barry Sheppard shooting for glory in Battle Of The Bush Final at Eagle Farm
There's not many 75-year-old trainers who still ride their own trackwork. Meet Barry Sheppard, the veteran Goondiwindi horseman who is hoping to take out the $200,0000 Battle Of The Bush Final at Eagle Farm on Saturday with his galloper Elusive Eagle. Four years ago Sheppard made international headlines when his horse Fitzroy Boy was a victim in a spate of atrocious attacks which saw several racehorses in the area left with unexplained gashes in their necks in separate incidents. Police never arrested anyone over the sickening attacks and security was subsequently upgraded in the Goondiwindi racing precinct. Fast forward to 2025 and Sheppard, who trains almost solely for family members, is hoping to make headlines for very different reasons as Elusive Eagle makes his way to the big smoke. If Elusive Eagle doesn't fire on Saturday, the trainer certainly won't be able to blame his trackwork rider. 'I'm 75 and I still ride my own trackwork,' Sheppard said. 'I don't have any trouble getting the medical certificate off the doctor, I'm as good as gold. 'I really only train horses for my family, I've got three or four horses at the moment. 'Digger, my son, has got a share in this horse and some other family members have too. 'I think there's 21 (family members and friends) in total going to watch him on Saturday. 'I haven't had a runner in the Battle Of The Bush before, but this fella is a real honest horse. 'I've had a lot of troubles with him, but he is just starting to sort things out now.' • Gollan 'itching to get back' to fulfil Group 1 dream with rising mare Before moving to Goondiwindi, Sheppard lived in outback Cunnamulla where he operated a service station for 24 years and was also the local postie for six years. He has always had a small team of horses. Elusive Eagle has notched up almost $200,000 in prizemoney and the eight-year-old gelding has won 13 of his 56 starts. He qualified for the Battle Of The Bush Final by scoring a qualifying race on his home Goondiwindi track in April. Elusive Eagle is a $34 chance in the Battle Of The Bush which is raced over the 1200m sprint trip at Eagle Farm on Group 1 Tatt's Tiara day. Meanwhile, Sheppard says Fitzroy Boy will soon return from a spell and has shown no lingering impacts from the horrifying slasher attack in 2021. Fitzroy Boy is now eight. 'The police never got who did it, but there was a lot of work done securing the stables after what happened,' Sheppard said. 'Fitzroy Boy has been back in work for three weeks now after having a bone chip taken out of his knee. 'I am surprised he made a comeback but he did and he is still loving his racing.'
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Trainer Lindsay Hatch would love nothing more than to see his former protege Angela Jones win a double on Saturday at Eagle Farm
Toowoomba trainer Lindsay Hatch would love nothing more than to see his former protege Angela Jones win a double on Saturday at Eagle Farm - firstly for him in the Battle Of The Bush final and then for her current boss Tony Gollan in the Group 1 Tatt's Tiara. Jones, 24, will ride gelding Peshwa in the $200,000 Battle Of The Bush final (1200m) and high-flying mare Floozie in the $700,000 Tatt's Tiara (1400m) in which she hopes to land her first major crown. Jones joined Hatch's stable straight after school and learnt her craft at various bush and provincial tracks before finally making the transition to Gollan's stable at Eagle Farm. She now sits second on the Brisbane metro jockeys' premiership standings on 56 wins, just three behind leader Emily Lang, setting up a thrilling fight for the title. Jones will ride consistent five-year-old Peshwa in the Battle Of The Bush final from barrier 12, with $116,000 going to the winning connections. 'She walked into my stable and she'd never ridden in a jockey's hat in a race,' Hatch said about the Charters Towers product. 'Ang Jones is a beautiful person, she listens to what you tell her and she does her best to follow instructions. 'She's very relaxed and that filters through to the horse she jumps on. 'She was never in a hurry and that's what has kept her in good stead. 'On her first day of riding she rode three winners at Dalby. She started to cry after the first win and then she cried all day because of the success she had. She couldn't believe it.' Hatch took over the training of the much travelled Peshwa from Ben Waldron in July last year. The gelding has finished top three in seven of his past eight races, with the aberration being his last-start ninth at Gayndah in a 1400m race on June 7. 'He's been a pretty handy horse. We don't know what to make of his last run, he was a bit flat but he's done well since,' Hatch said. 'He'll be hard to beat on Saturday. 'I'll tell you what, he's a very good-looking horse. He's nearly white, he's a grey to white. 'He prances around like he owns the joint too. He's a lovely horse.' The 17-race Battle Of The Bush series, now in its seventh edition, started in Goondiwindi in April and culminates in the final on Tatt's Tiara Day at Eagle Farm. 'I think it's a great concept,' Hatch said. 'It gives the bush people and bush owners a chance to get into town and have a crack at some decent money. 'Peshwa would probably struggle to be a chance in a no-metro or a one-metro in Brisbane where he's a good shot in this sort of race.'
