ROB'S SHOUT - ANY STAKES WIN IS A GOOD WIN

By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, May 14, 2015

Robert Heathcote is one of the leading racehorse trainers in Brisbane. 'Rob's Shout', the personal blog of the multi-premiership and multi Group 1 winning trainer appears weekly, exclusively on HRO.

The first day of the Brisbane winter carnival was a mixed bag for my stable last Saturday but any day when a stable wins a Stakes race on a big day is still a good day.

Bewhatyouwannabe’s exciting win may have surprised a few as he went around at double figure odds but his form has been solid and consistent and his win did not come as a surprise to the stable.

In fact on a tough and competitive day of racing I did rate him our best winning chance.

The race panned out well for the horse as soon as the gates opened.

He jumped well from a good barrier and aren’t they a huge bonus in any race! There was a stack of speed from out wide and they ran along at a frantic tempo.

This suited my bloke as Michael (Cahill) allowed him to get into a lovely rhythm in about seventh place in the run. He went for home a tad early as Luke Tarrant on Epic made a move to try and box him in and whilst Epic was strong through the line and was gaining ground quickly, my fella had enough in the tank to hold on.

It was great to see the local trifecta but helps when the visitors aren’t represented in strength which was the case in this race.

The visitors are certainly enjoying plenty of success this carnival but like I said previously, they do bring the right horses up here!

Bewhatyouwannabe will now progress onto the Lord Mayors Cup on Saturday week. It is sure to be a much tougher assignment being run at Weight For Age but the big horse is fit and well and in good consistent form so he is sure to be competitive.

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I will also be running Hopfgarten in the WFA Lord Mayors Cup.

Whilst I was enormously proud of his effort in the Group 1 Doomben Cup, I don’t feel he runs out a strong 2000m, well especially at that level ... and you could be nothing but impressed by the winner Pornichet!

Hopfgarten was the first Aussie bred horse home in the Doomben Cup with those who beat him all being imported stayers. It is no secret that they seem to have the wood on us over the longer trips.

Gee, with a 200m to go my little fella was still holding onto second place and looking at a nice cheque but he just tired under the WFA weight ... although he did managed to hold on for fifth.

He is still only four-years-old and I am confident he will strengthen and mature more over the coming year.

He did show me enough to perhaps warrant a trip away in the spring as a possible companion for Buffering when he heads to Melbourne in September.

Something like a Toorak Handicap might suit Hopfgarten?

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A few of the other stable runners have now been sent to the paddock.

Gid Up Strop and Fusina have lost their spark and sharpness. Jopa was brave again but with no luck in his Group 3 race. No suitable races for him coming up so he is having a wee break till the carnival winds down.

Pinch River was once again caught four deep and he did it real tough. That’s three gut busters in a row now for this horse and his recovery was only ordinary so the tough decision to give him a break was made.

It is important to look after the good ones as he can come back and hopefully fulfil his potential. The barriers have crucified him this carnival which is a shame for connections!

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This week, we head up the road to The Sunshine Coast for their stand-alone Saturday carnival meeting. It’s Cup Day, The Glasshouse and the three-year-old Guineas so it should be another good day of racing.

Maybe a shower or two about but the big wide open roomy track should play well on Saturday.

I have Volkhere running in the Cup. His past few runs have been excellent with a strong third at the Gold Coast and an excellent second to Pornichet in the Toowoomba Cup two weeks ago.

It is sure to be a competitive race with the visitors hard to toss.

Waller, Moody and John Thompson’s charges will be tough to beat but I think Volkhere ticks most of the boxes going into this race and he will race well.

A few other chances for the stable on what looks to be a very competitive day of racing.

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