ROB'S SHOUT - ANOTHER GOOD CARNIVAL FOR THE STABLE. ANOTHER ONE THAT GOT AWAY.

By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, June 14, 2012

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 once again for what we will be my last blog for a while as I am about take my family on our annual overseas holiday.

The metropolitan segment of the Winter Carnival has been completed but there is still plenty of action and excitement due with the running of one of my favourite race days … the Ipswich Cup … taking place this weekend. The Tatts Tiara Day is on the following Saturday and the carnival winds down with the Sunshine Coast’s big day a week after that

I have been very fortunate again this year with my stable having another very good carnival. We had winners on four of the five big Saturdays in town which included three winning doubles … and yet I still lament at what it might have been!

Last Saturday was our feature race day with the running of the Stradbroke and for the second consecutive year, I feel we should have won it or at the very least, that we were damned unlucky not to have won.

Buffering was once again extremely brave to run another Group 1 placing and if not for a poor barrier and circumstances which saw him posted three deep for the entire trip, I feel he would have comfortably carried the 58 kilos and won the time honoured race.

My fellow HRO blogger and race caller David Fowler sure did hit the nail on the head with his comment in his recent blog that the expression on my face was one of sadness mixed with immense pride.

I was not quite sure, to be honest, how one should feel to have a horse try and emulate the great Rough Habit with 58 kilos and also have as tough a run as possible and yet still have the tenacity to kick clear in the straight and to be run down by a horse having its birthday.

I have no doubt that had he drawn inside of either Tiger Tees or Listen Son and Sea Siren, he would have got a much cosier run in the race and he would have won. A barrier and he wins. It’s as simple as that!

There is also no doubt in my mind that certain riders in the race rode their horses to get our lad beaten and they succeeded in doing that … which may well have been detrimental to their own chances of winning? Maybe, but you know what I say about opinions, we are all entitled to them.

Buffering went to the bottom of his fuel tank yet again and quite extraordinary how he gives his all. The little bugger knew he had run his heart out as he was a tired boy in his box the evening after the race.

It certainly was a day of extreme emotions but I definitely would not hand any of it back as my stable had another stakes winning double and a highly creditable and incredible brave second in our state’s premier Group 1 sprint.

This is exactly what I reported the following morning to Buffering’s owners as part of my usual post race report!

‘Brave, courageous, tough, game, balls, bottle, fortitude, fearlessness, gallantry, guts, great-heartedness, heart, heroism, mettle, moxie, resoluteness, spunk, spirit, tenacity and virtue’ ... yeah, I may even have missed a few but every one of the these words can be used to sum up this racehorse and his run in the Stradbroke Handicap.

He sure makes me one very proud trainer and whilst he is yet to win a Group 1 in his own right, he is without doubt a Group 1 horse in our eyes.

His day in the sun where he gets his own glory will surely come! He is surely the best horse in Queensland and without doubt in the top few sprinters in the land!

Buffering has now gone out for a well earned break to have some sun on his back and then we will once again get him ready for that elusive Group 1 win!

Congratulations indeed to Peter Moody and the connections of Mid Summer Music on their Stradbroke win and, of course, the stable’s other successes on the day.

Peter has taken this art of horse training to an entirely different level and his career highlight should shortly come in a little village just west of London called Ascot!

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What was the carnival highlight for me? Yeah, that’s probably a tough one to be honest, but I think I would still go with the couple of Group 1 seconds from the little Buff. The 10,000 and the Straddie … they are the ones I would dearly love to win.

Pure courage and Buffering goes to the bottom of his tank with each run … and to think he was a four out of five lame horse just a short time before the Doomben showpiece, but he still ran his heart out.

A close second for my personal in my carnival ‘satisfaction stakes’ has to be the stakes winning double on Straddie day. Solhenitsyn may have missed a start in the big one but it was a lovely consolation to win the Listed Strawberry Road Handicap.

A few people are saying the horse has been a ‘revelation’ this carnival, but he has not surprised me at all as I have always earmarked him for a very bright future. He put three wins together this time last year and he’s simply improved with maturity.

He is a lovely big strong horse who is versatile enough now to race forward or back and I believe he can be effective from 1300m up to maybe 2000m. He is also out spelling before we prepare him for a tilt at some riches during the Melbourne Spring carnival.

Griffon was the other leg of the winning day last Saturday and it sure made me proud. He did beat our other runner, the more favoured Excellantes, but I was equally pleased with the latter’s run. He just missed a place after doing it tough from a wide gate. He can bounce back.

Griffon has had his fair share of problems but his owners, Wilf and Rosemary Mula, have never lost faith in the gelding.

After a serious leg injury, Wilf brought out the other owners, gave the big horse a good spell. The bugger even had a bleeding attack at the Magic Millions, but he has now bounced back for a Stakes win. Wilf was entitled to be overjoyed as he has a relation to Griffon going through next year’s MM sales.

Yes, the highs and lows of racing! Wilf and Rosemary have experienced both with Griffon and I was genuinely chuffed for them both! My celebration drink with the owners will be at Newmarket in England when we watch Black Caviar kick some more ass in the July Cup!

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I would like also to fully endorse David Fowler’s comments regarding the strength of this year’s carnival and in particular the Stradbroke Handicap.

Sure, there were no Black Caviars, Apache Cats, Hay Lists, Take Over Targets or Might And Powers … but I do think we are pretty tough markers as seems to be the case every year.

Yes, offering opinions about any specific races whether it be a ‘poor’ Cox Plate, a ‘weak’ Caulfield Cup or even a ‘weak’ Melbourne Cup … does it really bloody matter in the big scheme of things?

Good onya David. A bit of common sense which unfortunately at times seems lacking.

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Speaking of common sense, there didn’t appear to be much from Terry Butts in a recent article attributed to him concerning me!

I have been accused of ‘raising the hackles of many in the country with a magazine clanger!’

My comment in this month’s racing calendar is as follows: “I believe that under the former administration there was a lessening of importance of metropolitan racing that needs to be addressed.”

Butts ends his quote there, choosing to leave out the next two paragraphs which continued, “I understand some people from outside the metropolitan area will be critical of my views. They’ll say, that’s okay for him, he trains in Brisbane and wants all the prize money in the South-East corner. That’s not true! I simply believe strong, viable metropolitan racing has a positive flow on effect all over the state.”

Having been selective in the quotes used and losing the perspective that I gave, Butts then went on to say that most believe my comment was just a cheap shot or another way of saying there was more emphasis on country racing when the Bentley Board ran the show. Pleeeeeease!

I believe I do indeed do my bit for the industry as a whole and Terry, you can tell your country mates that I grew up in the country in Tassie and yes, I do understand the importance of the country racing!

Having shown you the paragraphs that Butts left out … I am not sure what kind of journalism it’s called, but I do know where the cheap shots came from.

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This Saturday will always be a very special day for me with the running of the Ipswich Cup. My old warhorse Our Lukas won a couple of cups with the second one being ridden by Stathi Katsidis, whose untimely death is still a tragic loss to the industry. Sad … so very sad.

This year we see Ginga Dude trying to create history and win the cup with the mighty weight of 60 kilos. He’s the early favourite and rightly so as he’s the class runner of the race with a million bucks in his bank!

My bloke in the race, Sams Town, is the roughie at $40 bucks, but I expect him to run a cheeky race.

The Gai Waterhouse looks a cracker of a race with a host of winning chances. I have Hidden Kisses engaged and at about $14 bucks I think she can race … bloody tough race though!

The fine weather this week looks like producing a perfect track. I have always rated the Ipswich track as the best provincial track in the state. Aside from the tough/extreme weather they endure, the staff do an excellent job with the track.

Sure, it’s a bit of a sharp corner coming into the straight and the smart jocks know exactly how to ride the track!

The time honoured Eye Liner Stakes is another highlight on the card. I have the runner-up from last year in Gundy Son hoping to go one better this year and also Funtantes who is in this race to escape the weight she was given in the mares race.

The barrier gods sure were kind to me this week with a host of good draws after what has been a horror carnival with my barrier draws!

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Like I said earlier, this is farewell for a while as I am heading back to Europe to relive some wonderful memories from my past career as a tour director for several leading European tour operators with visits to Rome, Florence, Venice Switzerland and Paris.

We will finish up in my old home town of London where I am planning to see the great mare Black Caviar when she follows up her Royal Ascot thrashing of the Poms into the Darley July Cup on the 14th July.

While I’m doing that I have complete faith in my team at home to keep the show on the road. Mel, Mikey, Danny, Tom and the team … ha, try getting me up at 3 am for the next three weeks.

It’s been a great year for the stable. We are on the doorstep of a fourth consecutive city premiership and I have a stack of people to thank.

That can wait until I get back home.

Cheers. Good health.

Robert

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