Rob Heathcote champion Rothfire’s latest miracle comeback coincides with Queensland rule change for Group 1 winners

Rob Heathcote has tempered expectations for Rothfire’s return to racing on Saturday, but he has had a win before he even gets to the races on Saturday with his miracle comeback horse.

Rob Heathcote is walking with the weight off his shoulders when it comes to Rothfire’s return to racing – literally.

The miracle comeback horse will no longer have to carry grandstand weights after Saturday’s Group 3 George Moore Stakes (1200m) after a recent rule change by Queensland racing officials to attract Group 1 winners north of the border.

• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Rothfire, who was all but written off by the vets after suffering yet another injury early in the winter carnival, has to lump the topweight under handicap conditions on Saturday, however will be free of his Group 1 penalty further down the track in races like the Lough Neagh Stakes (1300m) and The Buffering (1400m).

“Racing Queensland have done something I am quite appreciate of,” Heathcote said.

“In the past, horses in set-weight races, if they have won a Group 1, they get lumped with the penalty all their life.

“Now there is a calendar date (August 2023) on it, so in The Buffering and those type of races, he won’t carry the Group 1 penalty because it is outside the time limits.”

• Magic Millions champ returns with arrogant win

Heathcote is taking “realistic” expectations into Saturday after all but conceding Rothfire’s career was over when he sprained his joint before the winter carnival.

Rothfire is a $6 chance in betting, but Heathcote said he is a winner before he even turns up at Doomben.

“Realistically we are just looking for a good, honest run because I have already had a win, that is getting him back to the races again in the order he is in,” Heathcote said.

Rothfire returns to the races on Saturday in the George Moore Stakes. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“Horses like Rothfire can make trainers look better than we are, we can make mistakes and those horses cover them up, Buffering did it for years, now this horse is.

“He is going into the race underdone, I have tip toed on egg shells to get him to this point and threw caution into the wind with the trial last week.

“The vets said he is probably gone, the look on his face when we got it scanned, he came in and said he defies veterinary science with a joint like he has, to still be racing.

“He is giving weight away to genuine class horses, Tony’s (Gollan) horse Hidden Wealth trialled like a bomb the other day, he is down on 54kg and will be hard to beat.

• Cup winner Dolan produces ace ride at Doomben

“Jimmy (Orman) has a few options from barrier one, it is a huge plus, he can lead or take the trial and make those outside us work.

“It is a run-by-run basis, but the plan is the Lough Neagh (1300m) and then The Buffering (1350m).

“To win The Buffering with a horse like Rothfire would be a career highlight.”

Heathcote also saddles up Prince Of Boom in the race, who he believes punters have rightfully latched on to after crunching him from $15 into $8.50 when markets were released.

“Prince Of Boom has come back in real good order, he tends to be a little better first up,” he said.

Originally published as Rob Heathcote champion Rothfire’s latest miracle comeback coincides with Queensland rule change for Group 1 winners