Hold All Tickets

Racing, like all sports, needs superstars.

Without the biggest of big guns, it’s just another day out. Reserve grade up the road. The B team kicking off at midday.

We’ve been lucky of late. So many top liners. Champions able to capture the imagination of a fickle crowd.

Black Caviar, of course. They flocked to the track to see the Mighty Mare.

She was the best, but she wasn’t alone. Makybe Diva thrilled us. So gutsy. How do you win three Melbourne Cups?

By the third one, with Bossy dancing and waving in the saddle, she had everyone along for the ride with her. No easy task.

We cheered Might and Power every time he ran around. Out in front, daring the others to take him on. Few were able to. There is a special thrill, supporting front runners. They have to be extra special to get the job done.

Go back to Super Impose, and Kingston Town. Champions, able to put bums in stands. There is a way they go about their business, these types. The ability to make the day seem better, no matter what else might be happening.

There’s another galloper doing that right now. But it’s taken plenty of people a while to realise. For a variety of reasons. The Queensland champ, Buffering.

The southerners are now choking on their porridge. Did we just put the Brisbane horse in the same company as Nellie and the Diva?

Indeed we did. But for a different reason.

Rob Heathcote’s bulldog gives racegoers a thrill. He’s so damn gutsy. Just gets to the front, and stays there.

The others constantly think they have his measure. They reckon they can nab him on the line, when the tank runs dry. That’s where they’re wrong.

This ball of muscle gives everything. And then some. And the crowds lap it up.

He’s won three Group Ones now. Still more to come. And remember, he did all his early racing against Black Caviar and Hay List. Pretty handy opposition, in any decade.

Take them out, and three would be ten. They would be building statues of him at Eagle Farm.

Heathcote never once dodged the champion pair. That’s how much he thinks of his favourite horse. Damian Brown’s the same. Only a carefully aimed shotgun would get him off.

I can’t think of too many in racing today, that excite as much as the Buff. And what makes the story even better, is that he’s owned by a wonderful bunch. They love the sport, and they adore their horse.

So racing’s latest big thing comes from Queensland. Fancy that. The experts in the cold climates will dismiss it all, throwing up one of Gai’s, or a sheik’s pride and joy. Spare me.

I hear Rob is thinking of taking him overseas. Maybe Hong Kong. He’ll win there too. Just. Like he always does.

We love our champions. And they will too. Someone better tell them to stock up on XXXX. There are some noisy, thirsty Queenslanders on the way.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 7th, 2013 at 8:02 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.