ROB'S SHOUT - I WAS REALLY CHUFFED WHEN TWO OF MY STABLE FAVOURITES SALUTED LAST SATURDAY
By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, February 7, 2013
Robert Heathcote is the leading racehorse trainer in Brisbane. 'Rob's Shout' - the personal blog of the multi-premiership and Group 1 winning trainer will appear every Thursday on HRO.
Hello to you all once again.
Yes, it has been another very busy week but it is has certainly been made easier with the stable getting some winners and, in the main, most of our horses performing well on the racetrack.
I was quite chuffed last Saturday when two of my long time stable favourites both saluted.
Funtantes has been one of my favourites from day one. Not only is she a talented racehorse who gave me my first Group 2 race as a trainer, but she gives her best each and every time she races and she has the most beautiful nature you will ever find in a race mare!
She has had her share of soundness issues with a few battles with injuries over her career but it gave me immense satisfaction to see her bounce back and win another stakes race last Saturday which has taken her career earnings to over $620,000 bucks. What more can we ask of her?
Her dam, Cantantes is owned by my wife so the entire family of this mare have brought us, and the connections involved, an enormous amount of pleasure … with hopefully more to come.
I have now discovered that Funtantes races best when kept nice and fresh so I have popped her out to Washpool Lodge for a week of light work after her win. She will come back in and race next in another Listed Quality at Eagle Farm on Saturday the 23rd February. That looks to be another nice race for her.
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Gundy Son has been out of the winner’s enclosure for quite some time but the connections and I have never lost faith in him.
He went to Melbourne about 18 months ago for a race on Melbourne Cup day and I reckon he got a bug/virus, or the like, and it’s taken for ever for him to get over it.
This prep he has looked the best he has looked since that trip away and, with a couple of strong closing seconds of late, including one in the $400 000 Magic Millions Cup, the horse was telling us he was ready to once again step up to the plate and notch up another win … which he did in great style.
A point I would also like to make and this is directed to all the experts out there in la la land who profess to being geniuses in this racing business.
As horses progress through their grades it will always get progressively harder and harder for horses to keep winning races and that is the reason many horses then have more lengthy periods out of the winners stall.
It means that the tougher the racing becomes, especially when horses do get to open company, the more important the vital ingredients of the race set-up becomes until it reaches a stage where most horses have to tick most boxes to be able to get over the line.
For example, they need the right barrier, right track conditions, a tempo that suits, the right weight and a good ride with perfect timing to win. Often it is not possible to get all the ‘stars to line up’ at the one time hence the reason why it does become harder to win as the class of races gets better.
No, I am not referring to the stars of the turf because they are often good enough to overcome bad luck even with things not going their way, but I am referring to your average racehorse that goes around each and every Saturday.
As a trainer, I look at it purely from a training perspective and not so much through a punter’s eyes. I tend to focus on having the horse right, having the horse in the right class and grade where it is best suited. At times this is not possible due to programming and so I sometimes have to race the horses in the available races as they are programmed.
There will always be so many variables in racing. Many of these are often out of our control which is why punting on racehorses is called ‘gambling’. If it were an exact science, yes, we would all be rich but fundamentally racing wouldn’t work if it were all as simple as every odds-on favourite winning every time it started.
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Wednesday was another satisfying day at the races for the stable with a new-comer saluting at her second race start for us.
Kuchinskaya has headed north to us in search of the QTIS offerings and thankfully Racing Queensland re-scheduled the washed out three-year-old race to the mid-week Doomben program. It was a quality field of three-year-olds as invariably these races are week in and week out.
Jeff Lloyd scooted my filly to the lead and she was never headed for a strong win for prominent owners Greg and Lisa Perry from NSW. On the strength of that win, fair to suggest that there will be more wins in store for her!
The $53 grand first prize is excellent prize-money in anyone’s language so very encouraging to get horses travelling to our jurisdiction to race as opposed to those heading south as we often see!
Punters Pride ran up to his good recent form of two second placings for his maiden win and the day was rounded out with good runs from Pinespun, Vacallo and Bewhatyouwannabe all picking up third placings.
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Last Saturday saw the return to the racetrack of our stable star Woorim as he had an exhibition track gallop between races with a stable mate. Do ya think that’s got the adrenalin pumping a bit?
He has come back after a bit of an enforced break which maybe has been a blessing in disguise!
He whacked his leg way back in August and this caused a bit of bruising to a tendon. Subsequent scans revealed no fibrous damage but a bit of heat and swelling meant he needed to stop work so we ruled out the spring and decided on a lengthy break.
This has also allowed his hooves to grow as much as possible and I am now confident enough to say his troublesome feet are in the best shape they have been for the past few years.
His exhibition gallop was first class and Damian Browne got off him with a beaming smile. He said Woorim felt the best he’s felt since he won last year’s Oakleigh Plate. Awesome stuff!
I will give him another gallop between races this Saturday and quite possibly the following Saturday as well. The work is not high intensity in these gallops but he switches on better in front of a crowd and it’s a training program that has worked successfully in the past. If it ain’t broken …
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A few have asked me about his exhibition galloping partner. His name is St Andrews. He raced at the Sunshine Coast on Thursday and won nicely on his debut for us. We have a nice opinion of the horse and whilst he is still green and, as Brownie said, “quite raw”, I do think there is a fair bit of talent with in this race horse.
He races in the same colours as our Group 1 star Solzhenitsyn so, whilst he has a very long way to go to match the feats of his stable mate, St Andrews is showing me some good things. It was good stuff to have quite a few of his new owners in the closure on Thursday for his maiden win on Aussie soil.
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It’s another busy day for the stable this Saturday with a few chances….Fingers crossed the weather is kind to us and Headquarters at the Farm races well.
Cheers and good health.
Robert
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