Sunshine Coast treble for Rob Heathcote
Trainer Robert Heathcote has spent the past week in Hong Kong cheering for his winners back in Australia.
His latest reason to tune in came thanks to Bewhatyouwannabe and Hopfgarten and Kaiser Franz at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.
Heathcote flew to Hong Kong on Tuesday to supervise his star sprinter Buffering’s lead-up to the Chairman’s Sprint Prize next week.
Since then his stable has had five winners and each time Heathcote has been glued to his mobile telephone to listen to the radio calls.
Bewhatyouwannabe ($6.50) followed the fence to beat Allknight Saint ($13) in the Listed Tails Quality.
Stable foreman Mike O’Leary said Heathcote believed Bewhatyouwannabe could go on to win more stakes races during the winter carnival.
“His comeback run was very good and he was well placed today. At this stage he will have a couple of days on the water walker to freshen him up,” O’Leary said.
“He will then come back with the races around the stakes 1600m probably his main targets,” O’Leary said.
Multiple stakes winner Hopfgarten earned a re-evaluation of his winter campaign after winning the Listed Ascot Handicap.
Hopfgarten ($4.40) lifted his prize money past $500,000 when he charged home from near last to beat the favourite Worthy Cause ($2.20).
O’Leary said Heathcote was now considering the Group One Stradbroke Handicap on June 11 for Hopfgarten.
“Rob tried Hopfgarten as a stayer last year but this year he was keen to keep him to races up to 1600 metres,” O’Leary said.
“We will still be doing that and Rob said not to rule out the Stradbroke.”