The Mr Feelgood gelding will line up for this Wednesday night's TAB Regional Championships Heats (2,260 metres) at Bathurst Paceway after not only overcoming a freak knee injury but arriving fresh off a win at the same track a week earlier.

This will be Sputnik's second straight attempt at the lucrative country series after he came up just short of an appearance in the $100,000 Group 1 final in 2020.

He goes out from gate six in the second of the night's heats for Reynolds, with son Justin the gig.

The Oberon trainer said it's a welcome sight to see Sputnik lining up in the series after his troubles in the paddock.

"He got injured probably three to four months ago. He missed a lot of work and had to have an operation so he ended up staying in this grade so he was able to race in this series again," he said.

"A kangaroo got into his paddock and he ran up along the fence and a bit of wire went into his knee and they had to get in and clean it all out. Everything came good for him in the end. It was a bit of forced layoff but he's looking alright now."

Sputnik came back from his injury in April with six and seventh placings before he got his seventh career victory the next start.

"He went good last week," Reynolds said.

"We expected him to go well but we weren't sure whether he'd be able to beat Chris Frisby's He Aint Fakin but with the good draw and the run he was able to.

"His first two runs back were good efforts from bad draws. He just needed the draw and a bit of fitness. He's looking alright."

It's a family affair in more ways than one for the Bathurst heats.

David Reynolds' father, Russell, has Sputnik's half brother Imthevillagestar entered in the night's following race.

"The other fella is a chance and if he's anywhere near his best then he's a very good chance," Reynolds said.

"He's mixing his form a bit lately but he'll come out hard and might be able to lead. He's a bit of a frontrunner. He'll be able to make things interesting."

The night will feature three heats, each worth $10,000.

The eight-race Bathurst meeting gets underway from 5pm sharp.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: