Buffering will wear blinkers for first time when he resumes at Moonee Valley

Nathan Exelby The Courier-Mail  

BUFFERING will wear blinkers for the first time when he makes his return to racing in Saturday's McEwen Trophy at Moonee Valley. Buffering and stable mate Woorim, who runs in a 1200m handicap on the same day, leave tonight and have been granted permission to gallop on the Moonee Valley course proper on Wednesday morning.

Trainer Rob Heathcote could not be happier with Buffering's progress, but fears 1000m isn't ideal and therefore has made the call to add the shades in a race where rivals include Kulgrinda, Crystal Lily, Atomic Force and Satin Shoes. "He flew on Saturday morning in the blinkers and he will be pretty sharp in them this weekend," Heathcote said. "I don't think I will be leaving them on him. I will probably just use them for this 1000m hit out, but I will gauge it after that." Woorim is now on an identical preparation to 12 months ago, where he ran eighth first up at the Valley before a close third in the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes. Heathcote took great heart in the return win of Sincero at Warwick Farm "It looks like the Brisbane carnival form is going to stand up pretty solid," he said.

After partnering the Gai Waterhouse-trained Sweetest Melody to Listed success at Wyong last week, Chris Munce has picked up the ride on Fast Clip (Theo Marks), Upon This Rock and Merensky Reef for the stable at Rosehill this Saturday. He will also partner Flight Of Pegasus is trainer Scott Aspery elects to run in the Golden Rose, which looks like having a field of just seven to nine runners. Queensland Guineas winner Torio's Quest is set to begin his spring campaign in the Theo Marks after pleasing jockey Hugh Bowman in a Wyong gallop last Thursday. Munce and Heathcote were named Queensland's Champion Jockey and Trainer at the Racing Queensland awards on Saturday night, which also featured the induction of Brian Mayfield-Smith into the Hall of Fame. "To be a Queenslander and to be a part of the rich tapestry of Queensland horses and people that have contributed to Australian racing makes me very proud," Mayfield Smith, who has recently returned to training with a team of two horses, said. "I was getting a bit bored on the farm so I decided to get a couple of horses.

A good client of mine who owned Maybe Better wanted me to take these two horses on so I said I will give it a go." He said beating Tommy Smith to win the Sydney trainers' premiership remains a career highlight. "It was a goal I set in Cairns when I first started out. To attain it when I didn't really think I would but I told everyone I would was really good," he said, adding it was particularly satisfying to topple Smith, who had tried to poach his first top class horse Tiger Town. "It was good when the time came to square up," he said.