Atkins said he has worked to make Buffalo sharper out of the gates, and he was encouraged by a better start in the Sires.
โHeโs pretty handy,โ Atkins said.
โHe didnโt jump too bad the other day, but heโs just got no early speed. He just doesnโt pick up quick enough.
โBut he surely finishes off good, which is the main thing.
โIt would be great if he could step out a bit better, race in a touch closer, and he hasnโt got so much work to do, but thatโs just him.
โHe has always been a good type of horse, pretty straightforward. He was a lovely mover as a yearling. Heโs not overly tall, but heโs got plenty of length about him, and he handles things really well.โ
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Atkins won the group 2 Skyline Stakes with Promitto in 2022 and he prepared Jonker when he was a luckless fancy in the 2018 Magic Millions Classic after winning the Max Lees and Wyong MM classics.
He said Buffalo, which races in the colours of the great Gunsynd, was the best two-year-old he has trained โbased on the company heโs been racing in, and he hasnโt had a great deal of luckโ.
โI donโt race a lot of two-year-olds, but this bloke, heโs just handled everything really well,โ he said.
โHeโs a good eater. He doesnโt do a lot of hard work at all. He goes to the beach once or twice a week. He loves it down there and lets the little waves come over him. Heโs a character. It just keeps him nice and bright and fresh.
โHeโs not a big, heavy horse, heโs just a real athletic horse.โ
Atkins, who has been training since he was 18, has helped prepare group 1 placegetters like Rebel Rock, Impaler and Moss Rocket, and heโs hoping Buffalo can snare that elusive win.
โThey are certainly not easy to win, Iโll tell ya,โ he said.
โIโve been placed in four of them but never won. Maybe weโll get our chance on Saturday.
โBut Iโm not so much worried about winning a group 1. Itโs more about winning good money for the owner.
โMattโs been a great supporter and heโs a terrific bloke as well. He lets me do pretty much what I want with the horses. He says, youโre the horse trainer and Iโm the butcher.โ
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