Toowoomba trainer Lindsay Hatch celebrates huge win in Battle Of The Bush Final after avoiding ban
Lindsay Hatch has gone from facing a 12-month ban from training horses to Battle Of The Bush Final winner in the space of just a few months.
The Toowoomba trainer fought a 12-month suspension for a cobalt offence earlier this year but emerged from the draining saga with only a $7500 fine.
Now he and in-form jockey Angela Jones, who started as an apprentice at Hatch's stable, have won the Battle Of The Bush final after striking grey Peshwa took the honours at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
The five-year-old gelding looked like a drunk giraffe in the straight but Jones used all her skills to get him over the line by a nose at $14 odds ahead of Under The Limit ($14) and favourite Invahir ($3.90).
Hatch was suspended by stewards in relation to racehorse Dream Lantern returning a post-race urine sample containing cobalt above the permitted threshold after winning at Ipswich in August last year.
He continued to train on a stay of proceedings and appealed the decision.
Hatch eventually copped a $7500 fine in early March, although the strain of the drama left his wife Tracey an 'emotional wreck' and cost him about $40,000 in legal fees.
Now he can celebrate one of the best wins in his training career.
The Battle Of The Bush lives up to its name!
Ghostly grey Peshwa takes it in a photo finish ðŸ'¸
Two Eagle Farm winners for Ange Jones already today ðŸ'° @BrisRacingClub pic.twitter.com/HTuXtw7EM6
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 28, 2025
'It was enormous, I'm still shaking,' Hatch told Racenet from Townsville.
'I've got runners up here tomorrow (Sunday) so I'm just checking on my stable.
'I spoke to Ange this morning and said 'he's an ordinary horse to ride, he can lay in'.
'He didn't lay-in nowhere near as badly as he had previously but she was on to it and had the whip in the right hand.
'We both thought he was a good chance if he got the right run and she rode him beautifully.'
Asked if Jones was the best rider to control the wayward gelding, Hatch replied: 'One hundred per cent. I think the light weight (53kg) helped him too because he's been carrying big weights.
'Ange is riding superbly and it's a big thrill to have her win a race for me, I can tell you that.
'It's a credit to how far she's come and it's great to see her ride so many winners.
'My wife and my two kids follow her and love her too so it's great for the family.
'I said to Ange 'I guarantee when you jump on him you'll love the horse because he's a good-looking animal'.
'Knowing Ange she'll love him – she loves all the horses – but she'll love him even more.'
Jones said it was a pleasure to score a victory for her old boss Hatch.
'You know his horses are always going to be rock-hard fit, and they're going to run a good race, no matter what price they are,' she said.
'These big races mean a lot to him and all these country trainers, so it was super to get the job done.
'I was three-deep in the run but we had cover, so I was pretty happy.
'He wanted to lay-in down the straight so he was a little bit difficult to ride, but I was prepared for it and when the third horse gave us a bump, it straightened him out and might have won us the race.
'He was strong late and managed to get the job done.'
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