SIMPLY MAGNIFICENT! BUFFERING'S DUBAI GLORY

By Graham Potter | Sunday, March 27, 2016

Simply magnificent!

How else would you describe Buffering’s extraordinary effort in taking out the Al Quoz Sprint at the Dubai World Cup.

The gelding’s trademark commitment to the cause was in play right from the moment the gates opened as Damian Browne pushed his old mate out early to race in the leading line, setting sail with only one thought in mind ... to make his rivals chase hard and to break their resolve.

Once in his optimum position, it was all about sustaining the effort and the beauty with Buffering is that you know that if he holds any kind of advantage entering the final furlong he is going to be very hard to beat.

Buffering has the single-mindedness of a true competitor. He really does not like horses to go past him and he can be relied upon to call on all of his powers to deny them the chance to do so if it at all possible.

And boy, did he kick on in the Al Quoz Sprint.

Although Buffering always had rivals close enough to him, several of whom must have still thought they had a chance of really attacking Buffering when it got to the business end of affairs, in the end, he left all of those challenges behind in despair.

The margin didn’t matter. In the mood he was in they were never going to get to Buffering as the star performer upgraded his resume in stunning fashion by making a special statement on the international stage.

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Whichever way you look at it, the result underlined a brilliant training effort by Robert Heathcote.

Taking an eight-year-old halfway around the world to tackle and beat the world’s best is no mean feat, but all Heathcote's work and that of his team had gained a rare reward.

If a smile could break a face, Heathcote’s face will need some repair work in the morning.

“He is the toughest horse,” Heathcote said, “I just knew when they were halfway up the straight and Brownie hadn’t gone for him ...

“It took him eighteen goes to win a Group 1 and now he has won seven of his last thirteen attempts.

"He has travelled to the other side of the world and taken on arguably the best the world has to offer at the moment ... and I’m just damn proud to be here representing Australia!

“I see he has run 56.34. That’s a career best for him and he has done it at the age of eight.

"Incredible.”

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Damian Browne was cool and calm as ever in his post-race interview, but you can only guess what he was feeling inside.

“We began well. He towed me into the race coming across the junction. From then on I knew from about the 300m he was going to give a good kick and be able to hold them off.,” Browne said.

“He was racing against champions early on. Black Caviar beat him. Once she retired he’s had his chance in the sun and he just hasn’t looked back.

“He is just a horse that thrives on work and loves racing. He is just a gem to have anything to do with.

“We’ll just soak up the moment. We are just so proud.”

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