Jess Tubbs is packing her bags again.
The Myrniong trainer is no stranger to travel with a list of stars over the years and Tubbs confirmed a Queensland raid next week with two her best in her current stable, Tracy The Jet and Fighter Command.
It marks a return to the scene of one of the greatest nights for Tubbs and her late husband, Greg Sugars, when Just Believe won the 2023 Brisbane Inter Dominion trotting final and Better Eclipse ran second to the great Leap To Fame in the pacing final.
But Tubbs doesn’t hold such lofty expectations this time.
“We’re going,” she said. “I tossed it around for a while and I’m happy with both horses, so I’ll be there.”
Star four-year-old trotting Tracy The Jet will be a key player in the $150,000 Group 1 Great Square on July 4 if she is anywhere near her top.
Yes it is a strong race, but she is a feature race winner in Australia and NZ and all class.
Tracy The Jet adds further to the amazing Victorian flavour in the Great Square where Mick Bellman’s Mecarno is $3.50 favourite in a wide open betting market.
Tracy The Jet is being kept safe at $5
Jilliby Dreamlover and Nathan Jack’s recent stable addition, former Kiwi trotter Crackerjack, are the other major Victorian-trained contenders.
Tubbs has touted a possible Queensland trip for the talented, but big and goofy pacer Fighter Command for several months.
But just this week she not only locked it in, but decided to run him in the Inter Dominion pacing series, rather than target the support races.
“I’m very realistic about where he sits amongst those big guys, but I think the experience of the series will do him good for the future,” she said.
Fighter Command boasts 13 wins and six placings from just 27 starts.
His first three starts this campaign netted a win and two seconds, but he hasn’t started since leading and not looking suited in front when a tiring fifth at Melton on May 2.
