Famous Seamus will aim to defend his Kevin Heffernan Stakes win
The more things change, the more they stay the same is an adage that rings true for veteran sprinter Famous Seamus.
Hot on the heels of his win in the Ladies Day Cup at Hawkesbury, the eight-year-old will go to Melbourne on Saturday to defend the Group Three Kevin Heffernan Stakes at Sandown.
Trainer Noel Mayfield-Smith says Famous Seamus is as good as he’s ever been and can see no reason why he can’t win the 1300m-race again.
“The only thing that has changed with this horse is that each year he’s got a year older,” Mayfield-Smith said.
“His atttude is the same. His work is the same,. His times are the same. Everything is the same.
“He looks the same as when he went into his last race and nothing has worried him since.”
One thing that is different is that the trainer has managed to get the in-demand Hugh Bowman to ride him.
“I’ve been chasing Hugh to ride for me for years and now I’ve got him,” Mayfield-Smith said.
Famous Seamus was one of 15 entries taken on Monday for the Heffernan including fellow Group One winners Lucky Hussler and Under The Louvre.
As well as winning the race last year, Famous Seamus finished third in 2013 behind Lankan Rupee.
The following winter, Famous Seamus won the Group One BTC Cup at Doomben and his other Group One performances include a third later that year in the Manikato Stakes won by Lankan Rupee.
His Ladies Day Cup win was his first over 1400 metres and Mayfield-Smith is eyeing off a possible start in the Villiers over the tough Randwick mile.
“We’ll run him in the 1500 metre race, the Festival Stakes at Rosehill, and see how he goes there and we’ll look at stepping him up in distance again,” he said.
