ROB'S SHOUT - ANOTHER SETBACK FOR BUFFERING BUT I HAVE EVERY CONFIDENCE THAT HE WILL BOUNCE BACK
By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, April 11, 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, workload permitting.
Hello once again folks.
It’s been another busy week and also pretty frustrating not only with the inclement weather but also the fact that we failed to get Buffering to the starting post for this weekend’s T J Smith sprint at Randwick.
There’s no kidding ourselves that the great mare Black Caviar will be near on impossible to beat and even more so with the ominous warning from her trainer that she is in possibly career best order. Now that is scary … kinda like stepping into the boxing ring with the raging fury that Mike Tyson was at his peak!
We were however still keen to make the trip to Sydney to take her on as it was a race I had set Buffering for this past three months. He had enjoyed a good long break and been prepped for the run with two excellent barrier trials.
Unfortunately last Friday he stepped out of his box in obvious pain and discomfort. Subsequent veterinary and farrier investigation found the source of the problem.
A previous shoeing nail had moved a little close to the sensitive laminae in the wall of his hoof and an infection had developed. It had probably been brewing for a week to ten days but chose that particular morning to rear its ugly head.
Fortunately, we found the problem and treatment began immediately.
I thought we would be ok to still get to Sydney as his hoof responded brilliantly but, alas, on Monday morning of the lead-up week he was still stepping a touch short so I had to break the news to the disappointed owners.
Most were understanding and it was kinda like deja-vu from last year when he was a last minute withdrawal from the Group 1 BTC Cup.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t upset and disappointed about this happening but I have been in it long enough to quickly get over it and move on.
Buffering has now bounced back this week and he will be on song to defend his last two Victory Stakes wins in two weeks’ time on the 27th April.
Well, not officially that is, as they canned the Group 2 race last year and replaced it with a lesser race but he won that easily as I expect him to do so again on the 27th.
Even though my stable will no longer have a direct involvement in the big race at Randwick on Saturday it will still be interesting watching the top sprinters bash each other up as they chase home Black Caviar seeking the second place prize money as we had hoped to do in the 1 million dollar feature at Randwick!
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Speaking of million dollar features, how’s that for a bombshell this morning when the Straddie win stake money was boosted up to six figures!
Like everything in racing, it will be a point of controversy as I have yet to find anything in racing that the majority actually agree on, but I have to say I agree with the move as it is indeed our state’s premier race and the club must do all they can to attract the best sprinters in the land to contest the Stradbroke.
The lure of going abroad now for lesser prize money may well cause connections to have a second thought about their options now.
I know that the race is now firmly back on Buffering’s agenda.
He was a beaten runner-up in last year’s classic under a big weight.
Maybe not having travelled this season might be an advantage for Buffering this time around.
I hope so.
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I was even asked my thoughts on whether I would like the race to remain a handicap or have it changed to a weight for age contest.
Being the state’s premier showcase race, I would like to see it a WFA race but I could quite easily argue either way in this instance!
The fact that I have a top WFA horse may indeed swing my opinion a bit but like everyone in racing, we are all entitled to an opinion.
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The big talking point up here in Queensland I guess is still whether Black Caviar will indeed make the trip to Brisbane.
For the sake of the local racing industry, I hope she does.
We certainly need as much help as we can get and the value of the mare coming up here will hopefully has a flow on effect to the industry as a whole.
Racing against her and trying to beat her … well that’s a different story altogether. From that perspective all I can say is I know Queen Lizzie has become a fan of hers so Pete, take her back to Ascot and come up here for a holiday when you get back!
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Last Saturday was a little disappointing with Solzhenitsyn’s performance and result in the George Ryder at Rosehill, but we still saw enough in his run to be encouraged to continue on with his main goal and that is the Doncaster next week.
He drops considerably in weight and hopefully we will get back on top of the ground. We will ride him a little quieter as well as he was a little bit fresh for the Ryder.
We are still optimistic we can climb Everest with him but what an obstacle Pierro will be!
He is a SERIOUS racehorse but the Donnie is a handicap … a different ball game to the WFA sit and sprints!
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Being there on Slipper day was awesome. The ATC do it so well.
The pageantry was brilliant, the excitement was tangible and, arguable, the best horse won the race.
You just have to give it to the big guns though. Gai went 1-3 and Darley 2-4. They are sure hard to beat with their juveniles.
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The weather continues to be a major source of frustration for us here in Queensland.
Silly as it sounds but the never ending rain creates so much uncertainty and disrupts the established routine that our work load is increased substantially.
Not being able to accurately program the horses and their work both with the racing program and the jump out / trial schedule demands constant changes to their training schedule … so it’s pretty much go-go-go all the time until the rain abates and we can get back into a smooth flowing routine which is the key to a bigger stable’s success.
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That’s it for another week.
The forecast for Brissie Saturday is rain, rain and more rain … tell me something new, but surely it has to end sometime!
Good health and regards,
Robert
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