There is a new look behind the scenes at the stable of multiple premiership winning trainer Robert Heathcote as the seasoned campaigner pushes forward into the new season.
“There has been restructuring to a degree,” explained Heathcote. “I’ve got a new foreman … Jarred Coetzee. It’s not there yet but, fair to say, a possible training partnership with Jarred is very much in the making.
“I’m a firm believer that training partnerships are the way to go and that is why we are seeing a proliferation of them now Australia-wide, because the time is so demanding on your personal life.
“Heathcote, who was speaking from his stable office at Eagle Farm, weighed in further on that point.
“It’s eleven o’clock now and we’ve been here since 3am this morning … Jarred’s been here since 2am. It’s not even midday yet. If you don’t spread the load it wears you down, particularly as you get older.
“I’ll be sixty-five in a little over a week. I remember the days when you were sixty-five you retired. They gave you a gold watch and told you to bugger-off. Nowadays I’d be lucky to get a Timex and a wave goodbye.
“You can go back to when I went into a training partnership with Chris Anderson in 2019. I thought that a training partnership was the way to go then … and that is definitely the way to go now.”
So, how did it come about that Coetzee found his way into the Heathcote stable?
‘I had two staff members … my racing manager and my foreman … leave abruptly, so it was basically all hands on deck.
“I was left doing sixteen to eighteen hours days and it wasn’t long after that someone told Jarred that I was looking for a racing manager and a foreman … and he sent me a resume, beautifully written and worded. I later found out his partner wrote it.
“So, then he contacted me. He flew up from Ballarat. We had a meeting where I outlined my plans going forward. He and his partner … and their little girl … then relocated up here to join me and it’s going swimmingly.
“I’ve been at the track less in recent times than in the past but, of course I will still be coming to the track.
‘I’ve got to keep my jockeys on their toes because, I think, Jarred being a little fellow is a bit like a jockey. He loves them too much, as you know I do too.
“So, yeah, I guess it is accurate to say there has been a stable revamp. It all going very well … and I’m looking forward to see where it leads us next.”