For a moment on the weekend I thought Rob Heathcote was going to get his second Group 1 in as many weeks! His little ‘bulldog’ Buffering was sensational in running second too Hay List in the million dollar Newmarket at Flemington.
I had to laugh when I opened by asking rob how he was? “Yeah good Gibbo, I’d be a bit better if Hay List was a stride later!” I thought that was a great opening. Rob is very upbeat about the performance and is taking a lot of heart out of the race. He noted that Buffering is still only a four year old and still has a lot of improvement whereas a lot of his opposition like Hay List are seasoned six year old sprinters.
Buffering will head to the William Read at Moonee Valley, BTC Cup G1 and onto the Doomben 10,000- G1. After all that he can make his way back down to Melbourne for races like the Patinack Classic and interestingly it looks as though Hong Kong is a real option and will be given serious thought after they have been invited.
One thing I can guarantee is this horse will keep putting in and Rob will knock off at least a couple of Group 1’s with the ‘bulldog’ before he’s finished racing. Woorim was also exceptional late and I think will be a real chance come Doncaster day in a race where the pace should be solid.
I couldn’t leave without asking about a few other stable stars starting with Tomboy. “Going to the Coolmore, we need to get into the field and I would have liked to win the listed race the other day but she is doing everything right and I’ll be taking her down Saturday week.” Rob said.
Solzhenitsyn and Triple Honour will have jump out’s tomorrow at Doomben, while Rob is really happy with Fillydelphia and is looking forward to her campaign aimed at some of the sprinting/mile races over our carnival. Her target would be the Winter stakes but don’t be surprised to see her win a few on the way there.
A horse I have followed and had a lot of time for is That’s Karma but she has been tipped out to the paddock for a while.
The Heathcote stable is one I am close too and when Rob and the team have their tails up and rolling you really want to be on board, and you can bet that every post will be a winner leading into and during our carnival. They have got bigger and stronger each year, but this could potentially be the best year of all for team Heathcote!
