Star Queensland sprinter Buffering sent a chilling warning to his Group One BTC Cup rivals with a slashing seven-length victory in the Coca-Cola Amatil Handicap at Eagle Farm yesterday.
Buffering, ridden by Jim Byrne, made a one-act affair of the 1200m weight-for-age race leading all the way to defeat formerglamour sprinter Scenic Blast ($13).
Moneysaver ($61) finished third, three-quarters of a length away.
The major flop came from Adebisi ($3.50) who finished last, more than 22 lengths from the winner.
Stewards immediately vetted Adebisi and questioned trainer Desleigh Forster and rider Chris Munce who were both stunned by the 4-year-old's performance.
"There's nothing wrong with him but I could see he was in trouble as soon as they jumped," Forster told stewards. "His action wasn't right 100m after the start but he didn't handle the wet track."
Trainer Rob Heathcote believes Buffering is a worthy BTC Cup favourite. The gelding was at $2.80 with TAB Sportsbet, with Sydney gallopers Pinwheel and Sea Siren next best at $7.
Black And Bent equalled Lots Of Time's record for the most successive wins by a jumper when he chalked up his ninth straight victory in the Galleywood Hurdle at Warrnambool yesterday.
Steven Pateman was relieved to have won the A$100,000 feature for the first time after several attempts while trainer Robert Smerdon continued his clean sweep of the four jumps races run at the May carnival.AAP
