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Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Former Aidan O'Brien jockey rides first Royal Ascot winner in six years aged 52
Seamie Heffernan celebrated his first Royal Ascot winner in six years on Saturday as he partnered the George Baker-trained Get It to victory in the Wokingham Stakes. The seven-year-old just held on to deny the fast-finishing big-race favourite More Thunder after making every yard in the six-furlong contest on the final day of the prestigious meeting. It was a first Royal Ascot winner for Heffernan, who turns 53 next month, since he partnered South Pacific to victory in the King George V Stakes in 2019 and his sixth in total. South Pacific led home a 1-2-3 for Aidan O'Brien at odds of 22/1 six years ago and Get It returned an even bigger price (28/1) under a delighted Heffernan. The jockey told ITV: "I love riding at Royal Ascot and when you get to my age, you appreciate a lot of things in life." Last year's Stewards' Cup winner at Goodwood, Get It, shone once more at Ascot, having set a new course record just last month. He dashed out in front, dominating the central stretch of the track and holding off a late surge from William Haggas' favourite More Thunder to clinch the win by a head. After the race, an elated Baker said: "He broke Blue Point's record here six weeks ago and that was a great thrill – and it got us into this race. "Seamie has given him a peach. All credit to Pat Cosgrave who, annoyingly, is banned. Pat has been the making of this horse and a great, great friend of mine and I'd love Patsy to be riding him obviously because we've had a lot of fun along the way – but what a wonderful substitute in Seamie. "He breezed the horse a couple of times in Bahrain, loved him, and he did what Patsy always does. Let him burn out of the stalls and then he'll come back to you and then he'll go again. "When he was still in front two furlongs out and they were coming, I knew he would go again. But that last furlong took about three days! What a horse. He's danced a lot of dances and has been an absolute superstar for us." Heffernan split from O'Brien in March 2024 after nearly 30 years working with the Ballydoyle trainer, saying at the time: "It's not over yet but I just felt that I needed a change." He added: "For me to stay going, I felt it would be easier to stay going by not being based in Ballydoyle. Some lads will raise their eyebrows and wonder why. But, look it, I'm going to continue race riding so, if Aidan wants to use me, it will be absolutely fine. The only difference is that I won't be riding out in Ballydoyle every day anymore." "Seamus rang me last weekend to say he was going to go freelance," explained O'Brien last year. "I totally respect that and I told him he's welcome to come back any time he likes, we're always here any time it suits him. That will always be the way, if it ever suits him. "There has been absolutely no falling out in any way. Seamus rode a lot of very big, important winners for us and we'd always hope and wish the very best for Seamus going forward."
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Get It makes all for Wokingham win
Get It just held on to deny the fast-finishing big-race favourite More Thunder after making every yard in the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot. An all-the-way winner of the Stewards' Cup at Goodwood last year, George Baker's seven-year-old arrived at the Royal meeting having broken the track record from the front over course and distance last month. Sent off at 28-1 in the hands Seamie Heffernan, he was away quickly leading the majority of the field up the centre of the track and although William Haggas' 3-1 market leader More Thunder was weaving his way through the field to challenge late on, Get It had enough up his sleeve to deliver a head verdict. 'He broke Blue Point's record here six weeks ago and that was a great thrill – and it got us into this race,' said Baker. 'Seamie has given him a peach. All credit to Pat Cosgrave who, annoyingly, is banned. Pat has been the making of this horse and a great, great friend of mine and I'd love Patsy to be riding him obviously because we've had a lot of fun along the way – but what a wonderful substitute in Seamie. 'He breezed the horse a couple of times in Bahrain, loved him, and he did what Patsy always does. Let him burn out of the stalls and then he'll come back to you and then he'll go again. 'When he was still in front two furlongs out and they were coming, I knew he would go again. But that last furlong took about three days! What a horse. He's danced a lot of dances and has been an absolute superstar for us.' Quai De Bethune got up in the very last stride to to deny favourite backers in the Golden Gates Stakes. Ralph Beckett's Seraph Gabriel was all the rage as the 11-4 market leader following an eyecatching comeback run at Sandown, and he looked set to oblige after quickening up from the rear to grab the lead under Rossa Ryan. However, the Andrew Balding-trained 12-1 chance Quai De Bethune came from even further back in the hands of Oisin Murphy and while there was little to choose between the pair passing the post, the judge confirmed Balding's charge had got up by a nose.
Spectator
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Is an Epsom renaissance on the way?
Through 30 years of living within walking distance of the Derby course I was ever hopeful of seeing Epsom's status revived to the 600 horsepower training centre it once was with the likes of Walter Nightingall turning out winners for Winston Churchill. There have been brief dawns as when Laura Mongan won the St Leger with Harbour Law in 2016, or Adam West won the Nunthorpe with Live in the Dream. Hard-working and capable trainers such as Simon Dow and Jim Boyle have kept the Epsom flag flying, but too many yards were lost to housing developers as numbers dropped to only 150. Last Wednesday though I stood at the top of the seven furlong sand gallop on Epsom Downs with a man whose arrival with 46 horses to take over a historic Epsom yard could be part of a significant Epsom renaissance. Either way, there will be no shortage of joie de vivre. I have rarely seen more joyous scenes on a racecourse than when George Baker's Get It won Goodwood's celebrated Stewards' Cup last August. The winners' enclosure literally overflowed with exultant high-fiving racegoers from the My Racehorse syndicate, some of them cheering, others in tears. But that was not the end of it. When the gregarious Bakers woke up two days later, they found so many celebrants distributed around their home that wife Candida had to dispatch George to buy five chickens for lunch. This is a trainer who accepts that racing is part of the entertainment industry and who works at making it fun for his owners, not just on the winning days but even when their pride and joy has finished seventh of nine on a wet day at Catterick.
