ROB'S SHOUT - ALL TOO HARD IS THE REAL DEAL
By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, February 28, 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.
I was fortunate enough to be up pretty close to All Too Hard at Caulfield last Saturday to see him dominate the Group 1 Futurity Stakes. With his win he confirmed why he is one of the brightest racing prospects seen in this country for some time and he looks set to dominate the Weight-For-Age events for the foreseeable future.
He cost his new owners a veritable fortune when they purchased him off Nathan Tinkler but that now does look to be a very astute buy as looks like adding to his Group 1 tally as quickly as this coming Saturday.
Not only was I very impressed with his dominance against the older horses in the Futurity I was also taken with his lovely, relaxed demeanour both before the race and immediately after the race.
He has the presence of a real champion about him and whilst he may never reach the dizzy heights of his older sister, he sure is making a great fist of things to date.
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I see there are plenty of OPTIMISTS happy to take him on in the Guineas on Saturday but the early betting markets having him at long odds on of about $1.30 to add another Group 1 and to surely make it only wishful thinking on the challengers’ behalf.
Still, with the outside gate and the back-up, maybe there might be a glimmer of hope!
All Too Hard has already proven himself to me that he is indeed the real deal and winning on Saturday may not really enhance his reputation as he’s just expected to win!
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Of course the Futurity was over shadowed by the fairy-tale win of Miracles Of Life and the young rider just ‘livin’ her dream’!
The pony sized filly has a fantastic motor and she made it four from four with a super ride from Lauren Stojakovic.
The elation and pure ecstasy from Lauren, her family, the trainer and the many thousands on track who witnessed the event were quite surreal.
It’s just another example of what this wonderful industry can create.
Great stuff!
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Whilst all of that was going on, I was busy enough preparing Woorim for his defence of the Oakleigh Plate.
Racing, yes, it can sure be great leveller with a win last year and dead last this year!
It was obviously disappointing for Woorim and connections and his fans that he simply did not let down in the race. He came out of the race quite ‘shuffly’ in his action and a subsequent veterinary examination found him sore in both of his front fetlocks.
No doubt the wear and tear from his racing career is catching up with the horse or maybe the firmness of the track so he will receive full veterinary care and treatment in an effort to have him right for the Newmarket on Saturday week, but you would have to be a supreme optimist to suggest he can bounce back and be competitive.
It was very apparent that the horse simply did not let down in the race due to his discomfort so we are only hopeful at best that with veterinary treatment he can come back to his best!
The vet after the race actually had to take his heart rate three times as he couldn’t believe it was so low which clearly shows he never let go at all!
Yep, it sure was a disappointing day for us and throw in the non-winning day back home with a few less than expected performances and it’s easy to see why this racing caper can be a real humbling experience at times.
The long flight home was made even longer with plenty of time to reflect on the day and figure out where it all went wrong.
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Still, I am confident the stable can and will bounce back but with the deluge of rain received of late, it won’t be this weekend.
Not a runner on Saturday or Sunday so that is certainly unusual for my stable and a first for quite a long time!
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Congrats and commiserations to Jason McLachlan for having his dad inducted into the Hall Of fame and also for just missing out on winning the Oakleigh Plate with Facile Tigre with an excellent second placing.
Big Bruce was certainly worthy of his induction and Facile T deserves to win a big one!
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Back home Kelly Schweida’s nice three-year-old, Better Than Ready was quite arrogant with his win which has brought him right into calculations for the big Newmarket sprint up the Flemington straight.
Sure, it’s a huge task ahead of him, but this bloke might just be good enough!
I hope so for Kelly’s and the owners sake as it can only be more good news for Queensland racing and I just love knocking off those southerners!
Kelly always reckons he is swingin’ off the tails of my runners when they go around in the big races down south, but I secretly know he is cheering them home!
He told me Better Than Ready can win with only 50 kilos on his back. I said he can’t because he’s actually got 145 kilos on his back! … Craig Williams’ 50 and my 95!
He was unbearable as a Group 1 winning trainer, imagine what he’ll be like as a multiple Group 1 winner! Ha!
See you next week!
Robert
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