Nominations for the seven opening Group 1 races of the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival are now out including those for Queensland’s richest race, the Stradbroke Handicap 2014 to run at Eagle Farm Racecourse on Saturday June 7.

Dual Stradbroke Handicap runner-up Buffering is back this year now with three Group 1s of their own. Photo: Race Horse Photos Australia.

Last year 137 sprinters made up the nominations, down 37 to a round 100 for this year’s edition of the $1.36 million Group 1 AAMI Stradbroke Handicap (1400m).

Back for a second shot after being denied by last year’s Stradbroke Handicap winner Linton, a $25 roughie, is the Robert Heathcote-trained Buffering.

The champion local Mossman gelding has contested the past three editions of the Stradbroke running fourth in 2011 before back-to-back seconds in 2012 and 2013 behind outside chances with Mid Summer Music taking it out at 30-1 two years ago.

They return for their fourth consecutive appearance in 2014 but this year is the first Buffering runs in the race as a Group 1 winner.

A stellar spring in Melbourne saw him take out the Manikato Stakes – VRC Sprint Classic double before adding a third elite level to his impressive record in Perth’s Winterbottom Stakes in November.

This time in Buffering’s had two starts so far, most recently running third to Horse of the Year hopeful Lankan Rupee in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) in the mud at Randwick on April 12.

Heathcote has a total of seven Stradbroke Handicap nominees this year.

Other notable hopes for Brisbane’s top trainer include Railway Stakes third placed Fire Up Fifi, last weekend’s Gunsynd Classic winner Hopfgarten and his Toorak Handicap champ from the spring Solzhenitsyn who ran fifth in the Stradbroke last year from a wide gate (13 of 18).

Another top Group 1 winner back for this winter’s Stradbroke Handicap is last year’s fourth placed Spirit Of Boom.

Tony Gollan’s talented Sequalo stallion has been in top form since running top three in all but one of their subsequent nine runs.

Included in those was their Group 1 William Reid Stakes success this March in Melbourne.

Spirit Of Boom was last seen finishing a long neck away second to their half-brother and stable mate Temple Of Boom in the Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m) at Eagle Farm on April 26.

Gollan’s Piccolo seven-year-old Temple Of Boom has also been nominated for the Stradbroke Handicap as has young gun Whiskey Allround racing in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas this weekend.

Also being groomed for a Stradbroke run this year and nominated are the likes of the Phillip Stokes-trained Adelaide youngster Hucklebuck, Kelso Wood’s local six-year-old Benny’s Buttons and Perth’s Railway Stakes runner-up Platinum Rocker.

Some of the other big name nominees meanwhile include the Chris Waller’s reigning Tattersall’s Tiara winner Red Tracer, the Gai Waterhouse-trained Driefontein last seen winning the Robert Sangster Stakes in Adelaide, the in-form Hot Snitzel and Robert Sangster runner-up Platelet.

A notable non absentee from the Stradbroke early entries meanwhile is Japanese raider Hana’s Goal, the Kazuhiro Kato-trained mare having scored an upset win in last weekend’s Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) in Sydney.

The key lead-up race to the Stradbroke Handicap is the Doomben 10,000, the weight-for-age feature running on May 24.

Six of the past 10 Stradbroke Handicap winners graduated from the $650,000, 1350m feature and this year there were 46 Doomben 10,000 nominations taken including Solzhenitsyn, Spirit Of Boom and Driefontein.

Check out the complete Stradbroke Handicap 2014 nominations below.

Late nominations close on May 2 followed by the release of the Stradbroke Handicap weights on May 26 so stay tuned.

Futures Stradbroke Handicap odds are now set for release at Ladbrokes.com.au so make sure you have an account open with the country’s best bookie to get in on all the Queensland Winter Racing action!

2014 Stradbroke Handicap Nominations

Eagle Farm Racecourse – 07/06/2014