ROB'S SHOUT - A SAD WEEK FOR US AS OUR LONG-TIME STABLE STAR WOORIM IS OFFICIALLY RETIRED
By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, March 14, 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 again from a drier Brisbane than it’s been for the past few months.
It’s been a sad week for our stable as Woorim has been officially retired.
He has succumbed to his problem hooves which have plagued him throughout his career.
He has been a champion in our eyes winning over a million bucks and of course his thrilling win in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate last year will never be forgotten and I reckon it may get talked about in the pubs for many a year to come.
Last at the furlong in an Oakleigh Plate and to still win … Incredible!
Punters will long remember that devastating finish he had and if not for a poor rider decision he may well have won a Stradbroke at Eagle Farm and an Emirates Handicap at Flemington.
That’s debatable of course but he will long be remembered by our stable and his fantastic owners, Judy and Ross Cutts.
They were quite philosophical with his scratching from the Newmarket last week preferring to remember his thrilling wins and the joy he has brought them.
The plan is for him to retire to Glenlogan Park where he might still lend a hand helping educate the foals.
Great stuff indeed.
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Perhaps the saddest story in my eyes is the Magic Millions saga which is perhaps destined to finish up in the legal courts.
Inadvertently I was involved to a degree as the trainer of Greytfilly at the time the classic was run.
The owner of Greytfilly is reportedly alleging there are ownership/bonafide issues with the owners of some horses who were eligible for the womens’ bonus payout.
The incentive was a great initiative by the Magic Millions and it is really a sorry state of affairs to see some of the winning owners possibly having to become embroiled in legal representation before the entitled winnings from the incentive scheme can be paid out.
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I see the grey filly is lining up for the Gai Waterhouse stable on Saturday.
I have a very high opinion of the filly as she showed glimpses of real quality with some of her finishes in her races.
Yes, she had her issues regarding her starts which I put down to inexperience and a touch of physical and mental immaturity.
She will need to be a real star to cope with the rigours of such a long and extended training campaign.
Gai, well she is capable of doing some extraordinary things with racehorses so full credit to her if she manages to take this filly to the top of the tree!
I believed the filly needed a break after the ‘controversial’ Magic Millions race. The owner believed otherwise and the filly only had a week off and switched stables.
She will need to be tough!
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Locally, the majority of the race tracks are still rain affected so it may well still be a bit longer before the horses get back on top of the ground.
I reckon we need a solid week of sunshine to even look like getting back onto some good tracks so the frustration may be around for a wee bit longer.
Recent weeks have been a very quiet period for my stable both results and activity-wise and this does have a serious impact along the way.
I guess the biggest factor is the frustration created by the uncertainty of it all. Not knowing when horses can indeed get back onto a ‘good 3’ track and owners can again get to see the full potential of their race horses.
It is no fun having to pay training bills and not get to see your horses racing … and then, when they do, to see them perform below par due to their inability to perform at their best on a rain affected track.
I do feel for you, the owners who ‘put on the show’!
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I also find one of the biggest challenges at times like this is keeping the morale of the stable staff and track riders as high as we can.
This can be very difficult when they are continually working in steady rain for weeks at a time.
Tempers can fray and the risk of injury to both workers and horses does increase.
We have managed to cope ok through the tough period but like most, we are all hoping that the worst is past us and we can all get back into a steady routine again.
There is of course a winner in every race and there may well be some stables that have enjoyed the wet period with plenty of winners.
Mine certainly hasn’t … but I have seen Schweida doing a few rain dances!
I do think though that the punters, who ultimately are the engine that drives the industry, would prefer to see a return to good tracks so they can punt with more confidence of the form standing up!
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Last Tuesday was a huge day with over 21 official barrier trials being held at Eagle Farm.
The day sure was a long one with the first one kicking off at 8am after we started track work at 3 am. The last trial finished just before 1 pm so yep, that sure was a long day.
A huge thanks from the trainers involved to Bill Shuck and his team at the BRC.
They are also aware of the difficulties trainers have had this past six weeks so they decided to put the first eight trials on the outside of the course with the remainder on the A grass.
Many trainers had their big guns back in action including myself with Buffering and Solzhenitsyn having a good hit out.
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Yes, the winter carnival is on our doorstep once again.
Crazy how quickly it comes around.
Of course I am hopeful my stable can again play a successful role. If so it will probably be from the stars in Buffering and Solzhenisyn, but I am also hopeful we can find a younger horse to step up to the mark.
I was asked if I had a favourite race I would prefer to win!
Simple really, a Group 1 for the Buff would be just reward for the little bulldog and very satisfying to his trainer.
Cheers for now,
Robert
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