ROB'S SHOUT - BATTLE FOR 'TOP SPRINTER' MANTLE IS STILL WELL AND TRULY ON AFTER EPIC DARLEY CLASSIC
By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, November 13, 2014
In his personal blog, exclusive to HRO, multiple premiership winning trainer Robert Heathcote gives his assessment of the chase for the Top Sprinter title. He also talks about the excitement generated by Buffering's Hong Kong mission and puts us right in the eye of a stable compromised by races being abandoned ... and lastly he has a word for the animal activists.
Wow, wasn’t that Darley Sprint last Saturday a race for the ages?
We all thought the Manikato was a thrilling race but I reckon the big Sprint up the straight on Stakes day topped it.
Just being a part of it was an enormous thrill and OK, so Buffering was unable to defend his crown but he was extremely brave and courageous in his attempt, running a game fourth.
Do we now have a new champion No 1 sprinter in the land? Is Terravista the top dog now and justifies his trainers tag as WBS … World’s Best Sprinter?
I suppose he can because he won but funnily enough, in my opinion the best sprinter in the land title still sits with Lankan Rupee!
To understand my opinion it is important to have a look at the sectionals of the race to fully comprehend how good his run (and Buffering’s) was!
The overall time was a slick 1.08.79!
The splits from the 1000 to the 400 were 10.72, 10.70 and 10.65. From the 400 was in 11.14 and 12 something for the final 200. This explains how the first two over the line were entitled to come out of the pack and nail the two leaders!
I am not making excuses, don’t get me wrong. Full credit to Terravista and Chautaqua for their efforts but gee, what a run of Lankan Rupee to reel of those ‘Black Caviar’ type mid race sectionals and still be there at the death and just get collared the last 50m.
An awesome run and this is why I still rate him as the premier sprinter in the land with Terravista and Chatauqua and maybe Deep Field knocking on the door!
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I also think they rode Lankan Rupee wrong and it cost them the win by attacking Buffering as much as they did!
Maybe they thought if Buffering got a couple of soft sectionals he might be too hard to catch?
Maybe … but I see Mick Price has now come out and said they will re-evaluate Lankan Rupees riding and racing tactics for the Autumn campaign!
LR might be the highest rated sprinter in the world but Buff still got him in the Group 1 Moir so, yeah, that is a wonderfully warm memory still!
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A good mate of mine, Mike Ryan, owns the mare of Terravista, Parfore and wow, what a mom she is!
She has produced 3 Group 1 winners now as well as my old favourite Our Lukas who won a couple of Ipswich Cups and a Seymour Cup for me.
Joe Pride has the newest sibling, Ball of Muscle, who also won on Saturday so she has to be the best mare in Australasia!
Some bloody good guys in the ownership of Terravista so hearty congratulations to them and Joe and best wishes for the Autumn which is promising to be a massive showdown once again to determine the top sprinter!
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Damian Browne said post-race that Buff gave his all and that’s probably about as fast as the little champ can run.
We would have preferred more give in the track and made it more a test of stamina and strength, as opposed to speed, but Buff never shirked his task.
I have given Buffering from Monday to Friday to have some down time in a paddock to help him get over his last couple of tough runs as we now embark on the trip of a lifetime as we venture to Hong Kong.
The good news for us at this stage is none of the first 3 in the big sprint will be on the plane so that’s comforting. No doubt though there will be plenty of tough competition awaiting us on the International stage in Hong Kong.
This will of course be something completely new for myself and the team as we prepare him and ourselves for the trip away.
Excited?
You betcha, and we all have a real sense of nervous anticipation .We will hear more about the pending trip as it gets closer.
Only the two Aussie horses making the trip so it will be kinda special to be representing Australia in some way.
I was hoping it would be at golf or even cricket, but that’s another story!
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I want to briefly touch on a topic which seems to be affecting racing a lot of late. Small fields, small cards and the abandonment of races.
In spite of the much heralded prize-money increases the field sizes have still gone down!
I am not exactly sure why this has happened. Perhaps simply too much racing over the Spring Carnival period has been the main culprit, but I also believe that we have to be more strategic in our thinking and planning and programming of races.
I have been vocal in my disappointment recently at losing a couple of races in which I had very good winning chances.
The stayer Volkhere has done a super job this prep and the owner actually flew over from NZ to watch his horse run month ago only for the race to be scrapped within the planned week.
Ok ,a huge disappointment for the owner but there is another race was in four weeks’ time so we set about getting him ready for that with a week freshen at Washpool and then back into full work for the race on Saturday only for the race to get canned once again.
That’s it, the horse has now gone to the paddock as we cannot take the risk the open staying race won’t fall over again in another three weeks!
I am not sure what we can do about this but we have to get together to work on this problem before it gets worse. It’s essential we maintain the confidence required within our local industry to keep the staying races alive … and I don’t just mean at carnival times!
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I was also disappointed and upset Racing Queensland elected to scrap the open 1000m race last week and only run a metro Saturday 7 race card.
In my planning for Excellantes it was an important lead up race to the two well-advertised summer sprints being the Listed Keith Noud Stakes on the 22nd November followed by the Group 3 George Moore on the 6th December.
OK, only four runners accepted but the two good sprinters (Excellantes and Adebisi) had earned the right, in my opinion, for this race to have been run! It was said it was a commercial decision and yet a race the following Friday was boosted to a $50,000 dollar race to compensate for the loss of this race?
This meant my horse would have had to carry his 62 kilos and then back up eight days later into the planned Keith Noud Stakes.
That would have been unfair to the horse and certainly to the connections of the horse and it was a risk I was not willing to take as it is not always about the money won or lost.
So what, you might say, … racing goes on, get over it and move on!
I will … but it doesn’t change the fact that the decision in my eyes was wrong and an embarrassment for racing here.
I elected to give my horse a grass jump out at Doomben on Tuesday instead which he won well and he’s now got 11 days to ‘get over it’.
As Tony Gollan sarcastically said as my horse came off the track, ‘no $41,000 prize money for that good run’ and he is right, but it was the best option for my horse!
Good luck to whoever wins the $50k on offer on Friday at Caloundra. Hopefully it’s a good betting race and justifies Racing Queensland decision, but it won’t change my opinion.
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Lastly before I then wade into the paperwork required for the pending overseas trip, I want to make a comment on the recent animal activist situation and the publicity it has generated.
The tragic loss involved in the two highlighted cases on Cup day certainly gave the activists plenty of fuel for their fire!
I don’t have much time for their arguments to be honest as those within the horse racing industry have a much fuller understanding of the care and passion and animal husbandry involved to get these wonderful animals to do what they do to bring us so much pleasure.
Yes, there will be times when things don’t go well but the overseers of our industry do all within their powers to ensure the best is done for the welfare of the horses.
I don’t want to get into any arguments but I don’t see the activists picketing butcher shops or abattoirs after animals are raised to be killed.
Those in this wonderful industry know how much we love our horses and how we get them to do what they are bred to enjoy … and that’s to run as fast as they can!
When they can’t or won’t, we find them good homes in pony clubs or as pleasure horses …
At least nobody can accuse the HRO writers of having one agenda and beating the same drum. In his newspaper column Graham Potter went on attack against the activists while, in his personal blog, David Fowler suggested, at least in part, offering an olive branch.
Now you have my take on it.
Cheers,
Robert
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