3 minute read

It was fourth time lucky for Nanango trainer Glenn Richardson and his mare Sweet Venom on Saturday afternoon at Thangool.

Richardson and his six-year-old had been here, there and everywhere over the last few weeks trying to crack a spot in the 2021 TAB Battle of the Bush Final.

The pair had been to Burrandowan, Jandowae and Gayndah before Saturday's trip to Thangool, on each occasion running a competitive race, but without booking their ticket to the $200,000 Final on Tattersall's Tiara Raceday at Eagle Farm on Saturday, June 26.

Richardson (pictured) thought Thangool was shaping as the most winnable heat of the four and his mare backed up his thoughts, shooting through a gap at the turn to score by almost two lengths.

The Glenn Richardson team have loved their BOTB experiences in recent years, having two from the stable go around in the inaugural edition, as well as having an emergency the following year.

"It was really enjoyable the whole week when we had two in it the first year, the barrier draw and everything that went along with it," Richardson said of his desperation to get Sweet Venom in the Final this year.

"Horses like her, you do not get the chance to race for prizemoney like this very often.

"It was worth it all the non-TAB runs now that we are in the final now.

"She is a consistent mare and tries every time she goes out there, she is only a tiny little thing but she tries."

Richardson has been training in a full-time capacity in recent years after originally starting out juggling a job on the local council around Nanango with his gallopers.

He was always going to end up in the racing industry with his mother and father both trainers and jockeys.

Sweet Venom was given a gun ride by hoop Michael Stephens on Saturday, finding a gap between the tiring leader Miss Bulitz as they turned for home and she never looked like being beaten from then onwards.

Richardson explained that the tracks of the three other BOTB heats he and Sweet Venom had attended did not suit his galloper as she likes to be ridden back and held up, before having one last shot at them in the straight.

As is the case with many country tracks around Queensland, they can be leader bias and tight turning, which Richardson thinks does not suit his mare.

"It was a great ride from Michael, that was the plan," Richardson said.

"We spoke about it on the drive out and the only reason we were having another go at a heat was that we thought Thangool was the track that would suit her best.

"She needs to be ridden as she was on Saturday, quiet and cold as she can.

"You need to save her for one last run to the line and it all worked out perfect, he rode her a treat and it was exactly how we wanted her ridden.

"It was a matter of the gap came on the turn and once the leader rolled out a little bit, it was all over."

Looking ahead to the Final later this month, the Nanango trainer thinks Eagle Farm will suit his chance perfectly.

While Stephens did an excellent job helping Sweet Venom qualify for the Final on Saturday, he will not get the ride when the Final does roll around.

Richardson's wife, Hannah Richardson, is Sweet Venom's usual rider and was booked for another galloper on Saturday and is sure to regain the ride come BOTB Final.

As Glenn Richardson did not originally plan to head to Thangool and hoped to be qualified for the BOTB final already, Hannah took another ride on Saturday.

All 16 of the Battle of the Bush qualifiers (two per country region) have been run across the state with all roads now pointing towards the big Final later this month on Tattersall's Tiara Raceday.

Click here to read more on the Battle of the Bush series.