Winterbottom Stakes 2015: Buffering in class of his own, says trainer Rob Heathcote

FIELDS: ROBERT Heathcote is struggling to see how his top-class sprinter Buffering can get beaten in Saturday’s Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes at Ascot.

Moonee Valley Races

ROBERT Heathcote is struggling to see how his top-class sprinter Buffering can get beaten in Saturday’s Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes at Ascot.

“I don’t want to sound conceited but looking at the field, if all things being equal, I can’t see how he won’t be too good for them,” Heathcote said.

Heathcote said Buffering had travelled over in great fashion to Perth and had worked well.

“He’s an amazing traveller. He doesn’t even need a sedative like most horses to travel,” he said. “He’s eaten up well since being there and he’s hydrated up as well. His work on the course proper on Tuesday at Ascot was as good as he’s worked.

“If he brings his A-grade and all the signs are saying that, then they won’t beat him.”

Two years ago Buffering won the Winterbottom Stakes but last year Heathcote chose to take the sprinter to Hong Kong, where he finished sixth.

This year Heathcote said the decision was made easy for him with the Winterbottom Stakes having prizemoney of $1 million. Heathcote was thrilled with Buffering’s last-start fourth in the Darley Classic.

“He was beaten a short head, a short head and a long neck behind Delectation, Chautauqua and Terravista,” he said.

Buffering has drawn out but Heathcote said that would also work in his favour as sometimes he’s slow to begin.

“He’ll run the normal Buff race and any horse who takes him on do so at their own peril,” he said. “He might be slightly past his prime and lost some of his class but he hasn’t lost any of his toughness.”

$1m WINTERBOTTOM STAKES (1200m)

Group 1, Ascot, Saturday 6.50pm

1_ X154 BUFFERING cdmn (10) D J Browne 58.5kg

2 _ 5714 FAST ‘N’ ROCKING dn (3) Damian Lane 58.5kg

3 _ 91X2 WATERMANS BAY tcbh (11) S W Arnold 58.5kg

4 _ 515X SHINING KNIGHT tcm (2) W Pike 58.5kg

5 _ X326 DAWN APPROACH tc (15) Takahide Ikenushi 58.5kg

6 _ 731X ROMMEL tdh (8) S Parnham 58.5kg

7 _ 5351 ROCK MAGIC tdmh (6) Jarrad Noske 58.5kg

8 _ 2816 AKHEDASSET tcdmh (13) G L Smith 58.5kg

9 _ 6X13 LIBERTY’S GEM tcdmh (5) P Knuckey 58.5kg

10 _ 3X3X CHECKPOINT cdh (9) B Parnham 58.5kg

11 _ 1416 MADASSA tm (14) Lucy Warwick 58.5kg

12 _ 134X SUJET cdh (16) Craig Williams 58.5kg

13 _ 0X32 MAGNIFISIO tcd (17) J Brown 56.5kg

14 _ 2437 COOL TRADE tcd (1) P Carbery 56.5kg

15 _ 1X24 SHEIDEL tcm (4) Scratched 56.5kg

16 _ X721 LUCKY STREET tch (12) S Mc Gruddy 53.5kg

Emergency

17 _ X111 SILVERSTREAM tcdm (7) D Oliver 56.5kg

MARKET: TAB FIXED ODDS

$1m RAILWAY STAKES (1600m)

Group 1, Ascot, Saturday 7.35pm

1 _ X111 BLACK HEART BART t (11) G L Smith 58kg

2 _ 8348 MESSENE dm (2) D J Browne 56.5kg

3 _ 11X3 DELICACY tcmb (15) W Pike 54kg

4 _ X275 FUCHSIA BANDANA td (1) Jarrad Noske 54kg

5 _ 08X1 REAL LOVE tm (13) D Oliver 54kg

6 _ 1424 WINK AND A NOD tm (10) Lucy Warwick 54kg

7 _ 2X45 BALMONT GIRL th (3) S O’Donnell 53kg

8 _ X846 BASS STRAIT tdh (8) S Parnham 53kg

9 _ 1122 BATTLE HERO tcb (6) Chris Parnham 53kg

10 _ 2312 GOOD PROJECT db (12) Craig Williams 53kg

11 _ 5631 HAZZABEEL tdh (14) Damian Lane 53kg

12 _ X706 MR UTOPIA tcdmb (7) S Mc Gruddy 53kg

13 _ 1525 MY SISTER LIL tm (5) P Knuckey 53kg

14 _ 1311 SPECIAL DELIVERY cm (4) Joseph Azzopardi 53kg

15 _ 3X73 TOWER OF LONHRO td (9) P Hall 53kg

MARKET: TAB FIXED ODDS

Originally published as Winterbottom Stakes 2015: Buffering in class of his own, says trainer Rob Heathcote