Trainer Dale Groves says his old warrior Moscini is inching closer to an elusive Battle Of The Bush crown

Toowoomba trainer Dale Groves is set for another Battle Of The Bush tilt with his grand warrior Moscini.

Moscini will size up another Battle Of The Bush Picture: Grant Peters

Toowoomba trainer Dale Groves reckons if the Battle Of The Bush was contested on sand tracks, then his old warrior Moscini would be a raging-hot favourite.

Now in its eighth year, Queensland’s showpiece country racing series kicks off in Goondiwindi on Saturday, with another 15 qualifiers to be staged in May and June across the state.

The series will culminate with a $200,000 final as part of the Queensland Winter Carnival, to be run on Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara Day.

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In a boon for the state’s breeding industry, a $30,000 bonus will again be paid to the winner if it is a QTIS-registered horse.

“He’s run fifth, fourth and third so he’s working his way up,” Groves said of Moscini.

“He’s a nine-year-old so he’s had a few runs (83 races). If the Battle Of The Bush was run on the sand he’d be a $1.50 favourite.

“He handles the sand a lot better than the grass, I must say.

Trainer Dale Groves and Kristy Banks Picture: Dave Noonan / The Chronicle

“It’s a lot harder than what many people think, just to even qualify, let alone win it.

“It’s even hard to buy a horse for it because they have to be able to handle the bush tracks.

“It’s not just a case of getting a horse out of Melbourne with good form and running him around the bush six times to qualify.”

Groves named fellow Toowoomba trainer Pat Webster, who will enter eight-year-old gelding Office Jim again this year, as his main threat in the series.

“Anything Pat Webster lines up against you is always going to be competitive,” Groves said.

“His horses always look good and they’re trained to the minute.”

Beaudesert trainer Olivia Cairns has twice won the series, on an honour roll that includes legendary bush horses Mason’s Chance, Hanover Square and Art By Concorde, but she won’t have an entrant this year.

“It’s not something you can plan overnight,” Cairns said.

“It sounds easy but it’s really not that easy. There’s probably only one horse that did it in a rush and that was Mason’s Chance.

“To be honest I don’t think you’ll see another horse do what he did.”

Mason’s Chance won the inaugural Battle Of The Bush in 2018 when Cairns declared that between the qualifying races and prior runs to ensure the horse was eligible, the now retired gelding had travelled the best part of 10,000km on a float.

Tiger Legend wins the 2024 Battle Of The Bush Picture: Grant Peters - Trackside Photography

“The day he did qualify he had to go out to Barcaldine and travel seven hours. He left at 4am and got home at 11 o’clock at night,” Cairns said.

“The following Wednesday he got on a truck to drive down here (Beaudesert). It was a big effort.”

Racing Minister Tim Mander said country racing was the lifeblood of so many regional communities across the state.

“The Battle of the Bush remains the showpiece event for country racing in Queensland,” Mander said.

“With the eyes of the nation firmly fixed on the Sunshine State, this series is a unique opportunity for our country and regional participants to compete for feature level prizemoney on a Group 1 raceday.”