WHILE Just Reynolds is not entirely sure what it was that first led to him jumping in the gig, the Oberon reinsman is certainly glad that he did and discovered a sporting passion that has now carried him to milestone moment.
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On Friday night the 21-year-old notched up the 100th winning drive of his career when saluting aboard the Darrell Dwyer trained The Handsome One at Parkes.
It was thumbs up and a big smile from Reynolds as he celebrated the moment - one which he felt took a long time to finally reach.
He had been sitting on 99 wins since he had driven both Castalong Shadow and Finery to victory at Bathurst on September 22.
"It felt like a very long time, you start to think it might never come," Reynolds said.
"It felt like it took forever, but I finally got that one.
"At the start of this year I first though about it, I thought I might have been a chance to get it [100th win] this year and it turns out I did."
Five of Reynolds' wins prior to Friday had come with The Handsome One and at Parkes he produced another smart drive with the gelding over the 2,040 metres trip.
From barrier four he slotted into the one-one early then as he came down the straight as the bell sounded, Reynolds had The Handsome One sitting on the shoulder of leader and favourite Collect A Dime ($2.10)
With a lap to go the speed went back on and Reynolds guided The Handsome One to the lead. Once in front he went on with the job, winning by 7.6m over Collect A Dime.
"I've had a fair bit of luck with The Handsome One, I've won quite a few races with him now, so it was nice it came with him," Reynolds said.
The talented young reinsman works alongside his trainer-father David, balancing his work with the horses around his work as an apprentice electrician.
He got home from Parkes around 1am Saturday morning and was at work by 7.30am - but Reynolds had fed the horses in between.
To balance both takes time and a good work ethic, but it is clearly something Reynolds had a passion for. He hopes to follow in his father's footsteps and eventually be a trainer as well.
"I don't really know why I decided to I wanted to take up driving, I guess I just loved doing track work and working with Dad," he said.
"I just ended up getting my drivers licence and liked it I guess and I've been doing it ever since.
"I really, really like the training side, it's something I'll definitely look at doing in the near future. I definitely like it, probably as much as the driving."
While win number 100 is one Reynolds is likely to remember, he also has fond memories of his maiden win.
It came at Bathurst on February 24, 2017, when three-year-old Presidential Dude - trained by his father - snuck home to win by a half head as a $27 chance.
"I only won by a very small margin with that first one. I sat one out and two back in the run and I think I pulled out somewhere between the 600 and 500 and tried my luck," he said.
Between win number one and his 100th, Reynolds has produced many more smart drives.
He was twice part of the New South Wales Rising Stars Series, representing Western Districts, and won a heat in the 2019 edition at Bathurst with the Amanda Turnbull trained Convair Hustler.
Still, Reynolds said he doesn't have a favourite horse or a win he regards higher than any other. His philosophy is "I just try and enjoy every run".
"I've been lucky enough to drive a lot of nice horses and lucky enough I've been supported by quite a few different trainers, which has really helped me out," he said.
"I drove at Group 1 level this year on Carbaganoosh, it was my only ever drive in a Group 1 so far, so it was a bit of a highlight.
"I've got a drive in a Group 2 next week on Finery in the Breeders Blue, so I hope I go alright there."
