Queensland sprinter Buffering staked an undeniable claim for the title of Australia’s No.1 sprinter with a win that would have pleased the absent queen of the turf.
Buffering ($2.60 fav) broke new ground with his victory in the Group Two Schillaci Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield, a race the great Black Caviar had won for the previous two years.
Buffering winning the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield - photo by Race Horse Photos Australia (Steven Dowden)
“Black Caviar isn’t here. He’s lived in her shadow for a long time,” Heathcote said.
“I think this gives him the opportunity to put his hand up now and say I’m the No.1 sprinter in the country.”
Buffering came into the Schillaci with 10 wins against his name, having led throughout in each of them.
But the lightly-weighted Malasun burned him off in the early stages forcing him to register his first come-from-behind win.
Having abandoned an early battle for the front, Buffering surged to the lead as soon as jockey Hugh Bowman asked him to, going on to score by 1-3/4 lengths from Golden Archer ($6) who finished a short half-head in front of Stirling Grove ($26) in third place.
While the win has earned Buffering bragging rights at least until Black Caviar returns, Heathcote and the horse’s owners had been plunged into despair in the week before the race.
Buffering received routine inoculations last Monday in readiness for a possible trip to Hong Kong and suffered an adverse reaction.
“On Monday the vet called and said he wasn’t doing too good. He said our spring might be over,” Heathcote said.
“It knocked him down pretty quickly, but just as quickly he came back up.”
Buffering is scheduled to run next in the Group One Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on October 26.
He might then go to Perth or to Hong Kong in December before returning to allow Black Caviar back onto the throne in the autumn.
