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."
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Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
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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."
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