Leading bush trainer Pat Webster set for higher honours

Leading bush horseman Pat Webster has finally scratched an itch that has been pestering him for the last few years.

Previously based at St George in the Downs racing district, Webster has consistently produced excellent results with his modest team of gallopers.

His name has been up in lights by winning the Country Stampede Final late last year before going close to snaring the Battle of the Bush crown in 2022.

Webster has also prepared winners at a strike-rate of better than 20 per cent in each of the last three campaigns.

He completed all this with his horses while also sweating it out on a building site every day and looking after his children away from work and the track. 

Webster has over the last few months dived head first into full-time training to see if he can take his stable to the next level.

The 46-year-old has relocated his family to a property just outside of Toowoomba as he aims to cement himself as a serious player on the provincial racing scene.

It is a move the respected bush trainer has considered for some time.

"We have looked at trying to get into somewhere down here to try and have a crack at the training," Webster said.

"We have thought about doing something like this a lot in recent years and I have looked at a lot of different places to come to around this area.

"When we landed here, we are pretty happy that we did.

"I would really like to have a decent crack at the provincial areas of training."

He has hit the ground running on the Darling Downs, preparing a winning double at Toowoomba late last month, as well as two recent winners on the sand at Roma.

While the move was about Webster's training ambitions, it was also focussed on his young family.

His teenage son is keen on the gallopers and will give him a hand around the barn while his daughter is an enthusiastic young show jumper and is heavily involved in the pony club scene.

And, more than anything, Webster had enough of sweating it out during the warmer days on building sites around St George.

"I was sick of building, as well," he said with a chuckle.

"It gets hot out there on roofs and stuff in summer.

"I had enough of that."

Ian and Dell Price - along with their son Ivan and his wife Helen - purchased the Bahram training and spelling centre in February of this year and the Webster family took over managing the property in April on the outskirts of Toowoomba.

Webster and Ivan played football in the same side when they were youngsters and have also worked together in recent years.


Racing and Sports