BEHIND THE STABLE DOOR – A magical morning at Heathcote racing

Dec 7, 2023

“How good is this, I never thought I would get this close to our horses” quipped one very happy Qld Rogue as she patted The Big Goodbye and snapped the obligatory selfie at the Rob Heathcote Stable Open Day last Friday.

150 enthusiastic Rogues, some like Steve and Deb, who had travelled from Perth, weren’t about to miss the chance for a behind-the-scenes tour of Rob’s stable at Eagle Farm and celebrate their second successive TRL Premiership success. 

Helluva Barty Racing at Doomben on 28th Oct 2023

INCREDIBLE INSIGHTS

Everyone arrived nice and early and as an added bonus were hard up against the rail on the infield to witness the most impressive of jump-outs from Cantankerous who won his trial earning himself a spell and the promise of big things to come. 

 Armed with coffee and pastries, Rob graciously threw open his stable doors, with his loyal staff Mel and Mikey parading The Big Gee, Caxton Lass and even Rothfire came out to meet the curious crowd. 

 The Ramornie Trophy held pride of place in the middle of the yard along with the premiership trophy providing the perfect photograph and screen saver. 

 Rob gave a wonderful insight not only into the horses but also how a top City stable operates and the pressure that comes with the 24-hour care of your horses. 

Bellinger in the stalls pre-race at Bendigo
Bellinger racehorse Vic Husslers
Bellinger racehorse Vic Husslers

SPECIAL APPEARANCES

A massive thanks also goes to Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate-winning jockey Michael Rodd, who gave his time to chat to the crowd and tell of his remarkable comeback to race riding after a bad fall and a subsequent brain injury.

While another of your trainers Chris Anderson made a special appearance and assured all Rogues, that Larrikin Rogue will be “back, bigger and better than ever” after he completes his spell from a “minor tear” in his suspensory.

A remarkable morning was had by all, and a massive thanks to Rob and his team for having us at their place.

IMAGES FROM THE DAY

Here are two links to some photos from the day that you can download, in both colour and timeless black and white, enjoy and Go you good thing! 

Go Rogues!

VIEW COLOUR IMAGES HERE
VIEW BLACK & WHITE IMAGES HERE
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BOUNCE BACK FACTOR 

As Tycoons were made aware of, there’s a theory in racing that when a horse suffers from cardiac arrhythmia, “you must back it next start” and they win. 

And that was certainly the message after Cool Jakey suffered cardiac arrhythmia the previous start at Randwick, with Joe Pride telling Tycoons in the pre-race late mail, “Don’t worry about what happened last start, the horse is fine and he looks great,” how right Joe was with Cool Jakey leading all the way.

COOL JAKEY THE KING OF WARWICK FARM 050325

Cool Jakey battling to the line with Emmadella

Cool Jakey trainer Joe Pride, Brave Pride, Jockey Adam Hyeronimus and TK

Trainer Joe Pride and son Brave Pride, Jockey Adam Hyeronimus and TRL Rep TK

HIPPO FROM BARRIER TO BOX

Adam Hyeronimus was having his first sit on Cool Jakey and he rode him a treat. We joked before the race “just go to the front and improve your position” and that’s exactly what he did. 

“He jumped well and found a nice rhythm straight away, he had a nice time so I let him slide early into it at the 600metres so we did go a bit early. 

“He felt fantastic throughout the run and was doing it easily, so I did get a bit of a surprise how quickly he stopped. 

“So maybe I did go too early, but in saying that, maybe seven furlongs is his upper limit. On that effort he’ll be winning again” Jockey Adam Hyeronimus said.

JOE DELIGHTED

“That was good guys” trainer Joe Pride said, with a big smile to a large contingent of NSW Tycoons on Cool Jakey returning to scale. 

“Look it was nice to see him win on a track that wasn’t bottomless wet, it opens up a lot more opportunities for him. 

“In saying that if there was a 1400m for him in a fortnight on a Good track I would probably be reluctant to start him. We need to nurse him through it and the next month – six weeks isn’t going to be easy because it’s carnival time. 

Cool Jakey the king of Warwick Farm with NSW Tycoons

Cool Jakey in the winners circle with NSW Tycoons’ owners

WHATS NEXT – PACK YOUR BAGS

The Tycoons have been very patient with Cool Jakey and their patience has been rewarded. He is building a very nice career record which stands at only 13 starts for 5 wins and a minor placing and is now pushing the $200,000 in prize money. 

‘Jakey’ has initially pulled up well, but we all know that he is a delicate soul and has to be treated with kindness and Joe is reluctant to push him too hard too quickly. Which is fair enough. 

“We might even consider travelling him maybe to Melbourne or Brisbane for a wet track, we just need to look after him.

“He’s been a good horse for us, we will look after him and his best opportunities will come in the Winter,” Joe concluded. 

Congratulations to all NSW Tycoons and winning connections.

Go you good thing!

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