As time has gone on, Buffalo River has become his own worst enemy which has resulted in trainer Mike Moroney delving into his bag of tricks with the gelding.
Instead of relying on traditional trackwork to get Buffalo River fit enough for a first-up assault on the Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday, Moroney has used a combination of jump-outs and the treadmill.
Buffalo River ran third to Mr Brightside and I Am Superman in last year’s edition and this time around the gelding will be ridden by Damien Oliver and has drawn barrier one.
Moroney explained the older Buffalo River has got, the harder he has become to control in training.
He said if working solo and a horse goes by, Buffalo River would get stirred up and even being the first horse out on the track would not help him settle.
Since Buffalo River’s last start at Flemington on May 13, the gelding has been freshened and had three jump-outs to prepare for Saturday.
“We just couldn’t do the work with him that we wanted, so if we give him the jump-outs, he’s fine, and we use the treadmill as well and get him as fit as we can doing that,” Moroney told RSN.
“He looks nice and ready, and he goes well first-up, so who is to say he won’t with different training.
“He’s been a bit frustrating, but he’s done a good job, but he could have quite easily won a few more with a little bit of luck if things went right.
“He is always a vulnerable sort of horse when he finds himself in front as everyone knew his tactics and when you know the opposition’s tactics, it’s quite easy to beat them, especially when you get up into that Group 1 class.”
The Lawrence Stakes has brought together a good field with last year’s winner Mr Brightside in barrier 10 kicking off his spring campaign.
Group 1 winners Tuvalu and Aegon have drawn poorly in gates 16 and 17 respectively with last year’s Caulfield Guineas winner Golden Mile also drawn wide in barrier 14 in a field of 18 that includes three emergency acceptors.
