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“I Needed A Change” – Seamie Heffernan Explains Ballydoyle Departure

For the first time since 1996, Seamie Heffernan will not be based at Ballydoyle–but Aidan O'Brien's long and trusted ally has revealed that he still hopes to be riding big-race winners in the Coolmore colours in the future.

It has been one of the worst kept secrets in Irish racing for some time that Heffernan, one of the constants at Ballydoyle for almost three decades now, would not be returning to the fold.

And on the eve of the opening day of the Flat season in Ireland, Heffernan lifted the lid on the reasons behind taking the decision to step away from Ballydoyle in favour of tackling life “in the fast lane” as a freelance jockey. He also revealed that he has already been approached to ride for one of the major opposition stables.

Heffernan told TDN Europe, “It was my decision. When I look outside my back door on my farm, I know that I have been so privileged because I started off with absolutely zero. I couldn't believe it when I was offered the job behind Christy Roche in Ballydoyle back in 1996.

“I have made many friends, plenty of money and I have loads of nice pictures and trophies. 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.”

Heffernan and O'Brien have categorically denied that there has been any falling out. Speaking to the Racing Post on Sunday, O'Brien said, “Obviously I heard the rumours but I didn't think any more about it. However, Seamus rang me last weekend to say he was going to go freelance. 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.”

O'Brien added, “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.”

Together, O'Brien and Heffernan combined to win the Derby at Epsom in 2019 with Anthony Van Dyck, the Oaks in 2012 with Was and five more Irish Derby victories at the Curragh. But Heffernan's personal highlight, marginally behind being offered the Ballydoyle gig in the first place, was guiding globetrotting sensation Highland Reel to victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita in 2016.

Heffernan remembered, “I probably should have won an Arc on Highland Reel but, a couple of weeks later, I hit the nail on the head–that Breeders' Cup win was awesome. That would have to be the one that sticks out. But, I would nearly have to put that second to being offered the job at Ballydoyle in the first place back in 1996. Getting the job was my highlight.”

So what will a day in the life of Heffernan look like this season? Outside of O'Brien, for whom the 51-year-old rode 34 winners from 155 rides domestically last season, Tipperary-based handlers Willie Browne [rides] and Kevin Coleman [22 rides] were also major supporters. Heffernan says that he is committed to maintaining and developing those relationships going forward as well as working closely with a number of longstanding owners to identify young talent.

Heffernan said, “A change is as good as a holiday. I'm going to be busy and I'm going to be riding on. I feel very fit and I'm very focussed. It's onwards and upwards, hopefully. I have little bits and pieces and interests in horses. When I set my mind on something, I try very hard to make it happen. I'm going to try hard to make things happen this year. I can't call the people I will be riding for smaller trainers–they just don't have the same ammunition as the big boys. I'll be working very closely with some of my owners to get the ammunition and to make it happen for those trainers.”

He continued, “I feel that I have achieved a lot and, for me to stay happy and keep achieving, I needed a change. Hopefully it's the right decision. I can't stress how thankful I am to the Magniers, the Tabors and the Smiths. With their pedigrees, I achieved the most on the biggest stages. I can't stress how thankful I am to them for never saying, 'we don't want Seamie.' I am sure I will ride plenty of winners in their silks again.”

Heffernan has been associated with many of Coolmore's champions, none more high profile than the legendary Galileo, who he partnered to Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial success in 2001. Coolmore boss John Magnier and his partners are understood to have given Heffernan their full backing in his decision to go freelance after a long and fruitful association riding many of Ballydoyle's big guns.

He explained, “They completely respected my decision. Whatever I felt was the right thing to do, they had no problem with it. I would be inclined to say I have spent all of my career in the slow lane so maybe I might chance putting on the indicator and heading into the fast lane for a while. Maybe it's time I put myself in the fast lane to see if I can handle it!”

Asked if that meant he had designs on challenging for a championship, Heffernan concluded, “I don't have the ammunition so I don't think I would have any chance. Unless you are riding for Joseph O'Brien, Dermot Weld, those sort of trainers, you can't win a title because you just don't have the numbers. I have been approached [by one of the bigger stables] but I am happy enough for my agent [Ruaidhri Tierny] to do his best and I will do my best for him.”

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Melbourne Cup: Anthony Van Dyck Tragedy Leads To New CT Scan Requirement, Other Safety Benchmarks

Racing Victoria (RV), together with the Victoria Racing Club (VRC), have announced the industry's plan to set a new global safety benchmark for horses competing in the Spring Racing Carnival. The new safety measures, to be introduced this year, follow an extensive review into the rate of injuries sustained by international horses during the Spring Racing Carnival over the past decade, with a primary focus on Australia's greatest race, the Melbourne Cup.

The process involved the review group covering four key areas: the higher rate of injuries among visiting and imported horses over the past decade; pre- and post-travel veterinary and diagnostic requirements; training facilities both internationally and upon arrival in Melbourne; and the conditions of the Melbourne Cup.

The review group also considered a fatality report compiled by RV following the injury and subsequent euthanasia of Aidan O'Brien trainee Anthony Van Dyck in the 2020 Melbourne Cup.

The report details that, following his arrival in Australia, Anthony Van Dyck's private veterinarian diagnosed Proximal Suspensory Desmitis (PSD) in all four limbs, a condition that is common in athletic horses and is considered low risk for serious injury. The diagnostic procedures used by the stable's private veterinarian included nerve blocks, a highly common practice used by veterinarians to temporarily desensitize localized areas when examining the soundness of equine athletes.

The diagnosis of PSD was consistent with the findings of Anthony Van Dyck's post mortem and is considered unrelated to the fatal fractures sustained by the horse in the Melbourne Cup. Having reasonably accepted the diagnosis of PSD and in the absence of other clinical signs, further diagnostic examination was not sought by the stable or RV.

The fatality report found that, whilst current veterinary processes were followed, had mandatory precautionary diagnostic imaging been in place, it may have identified the potential for Anthony Van Dyck to incur a more serious racing injury.

The review group ultimately determined that there are multiple contributing factors to injuries in horses, particularly among international horses travelling to Australia, and thus a combination of recommendations, each contributing to reduce the risk of injury, was required.

The headline initiatives being implemented with the aim of reducing injuries among international horses during the Spring Racing Carnival and among all horses competing in the Melbourne Cup are as follows:

Pre-Travel

An enhanced pre-travel veterinary examination process will ensure an unprecedented level of scrutiny on horses wishing to travel with additional compulsory diagnostic imaging and examinations to be conducted;
All international horses wishing to enter WIHC must undergo full body scintigraphy and CT/MRI of their distal limbs at the expense of their connections two to six weeks prior to entering pre-export quarantine;
Horses that have had a previous major fracture or orthopaedic surgery will be excluded from travelling and entering WIHC regardless of their current health and soundness; and
An RV appointed veterinarian will conduct a pre-travel veterinary examination in pre-export quarantine within a week of travelling to Australia to ensure the ongoing suitability of horses to travel.

Post-Arrival in Australia

All international horses that arrive at WIHC must also undergo a CT scan of their distal limbs prior to each start in Victoria during the Spring Racing Carnival before being permitted to compete, with the costs to be met by RV;
Dedicated RV appointed veterinary staff will provide and/or oversee veterinary clinical services for international horses at WIHC instead of stables appointing their own private veterinarians; and
Enhanced oversight will include new trackwork monitoring processes and systems along with the world-first introduction of cortisol analysis to monitor stress levels in international horses based at WIHC.

Werribee International Horse Centre

The WIHC will be retained as the industry's quarantine facility and international training center with further enhancements to be made to the two training tracks and veterinary examination facilities;
The depth of the profile of the sand-fibre track will be increased and track preparation modified to increase the depth and frequency of harrowing, while the crossing will be upgraded on the turf track;
The number of international horses permitted to enter the WIHC for the Spring Racing Carnival will be capped at 24 – down from an uncapped peak of 42 in 2018; and
Imported international horses ('one-way tickets'), whilst in training, will be required to remain at the WIHC until at least the conclusion of Melbourne Cup week before being permitted to transfer to different training facilities.

Melbourne Cup

In what is believed to be a world-first initiative, all horses – international and local – must undergo a CT scan of their distal limbs before being permitted to compete in the Melbourne Cup, with the costs to be met by RV;
That diagnostic imaging must be performed after the date of the Caulfield Cup and prior to Melbourne Cup final acceptances, with local horses permitted to start between their imaging and the Melbourne Cup;
These scans will be reviewed by a panel of three RV-appointed international experts in equine surgery and veterinary diagnostic imaging to determine the horse's suitability to race;
International horses that travel to Australia via the WIHC will be permitted to have a maximum of one start only in Australia prior to contesting the Melbourne Cup; and
An additional pre-race veterinary inspection of all starters will be conducted by a panel of RV veterinarians on the day prior to the Melbourne Cup, in addition to that already conducted on the Thursday/Friday prior to the race.

To facilitate the implementation of the plan, RV, the VRC and the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) have today also announced that nominations for the 2021 Melbourne Cup and 2021 Caulfield Cup will be brought forward to Aug. 3 to allow sufficient time for extensive veterinary examinations of international entries. The final race conditions of the 2021 Melbourne Cup will be published in June.

Additional information about the new initiatives is available here.

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Melbourne Cup: Anthony Van Dyke Euthanized, Historic Whip Fine Issued

Tuesday's Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse, “the race that stops the nation,” was marred by tragedy as one of the pre-race favorites, Anthony Van Dyck, broke down and had to be euthanized. The 2019 winner of the G1 Investec Derby was pulled up turning into the home straight, and was diagnosed with a fractured fetlock.

“It is with sadness that we confirm that Anthony Van Dyck had to be humanely euthanized after sustaining a fractured fetlock during the running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington,” said Racing Victoria's (RV) Executive General Manager – Integrity Services, Jamie Stier. “The horse received immediate veterinary care, however he was unable to be saved due to the nature of the injury sustained.

“Our sympathies are extended to the owners of Anthony Van Dyck, trainer Aidan O'Brien and all his staff who cared for the horse and are greatly saddened by their loss.”

Stier explained that a fatality report will now be prepared by the RV Integrity Services team as is standard practice.

“The fatality report gives consideration to the circumstances of the incident and any potential learnings to assist in the prevention of similar injuries in the future,” Stier explained. “The report will include the findings of a post-mortem which will now be conducted by the University of Melbourne Veterinary Clinic and we expect it will be several weeks before we have a completed report for consideration.”

Anthony Van Dyck's jockey, Hugh Bowman, was uninjured in the incident.

Tuesday's fatality marks the seventh horse to die after the Melbourne Cup since 2013.

The 2020 Melbourne Cup was contested without fans in attendance due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. The race saw a second victor from the barn of young trainer Joseph O'Brien, as Twilight Payment led all the way under jockey Jye McNeil. O'Brien won his first Cup in 2017 with Rekindling.

The runner-up, Tiger Moth, is trained by Joseph O'Brien's father, Aidan O'Brien.

Tiger Moth was ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, who was assigned one of the largest fines for whip use in Australian racing history, per The Guardian. Race stewards fined McEvoy AUS$50,000 (about US$36,000) and suspended him for 13 meetings for using his whip 13 times before the 100-meter mark, and 21 times overall. Jockeys are allowed to use the whip no more than five times before the 100-meter point.

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O’Brien Horses In Australia Subjected To Out-Of-Competition Tests After Feed Contamination Concerns

After top international trainers Aidan and Joseph O'Brien were forced to scratch horses from Sunday's races due to concerns about possible feed contamination, news broke Monday that Australian authorities are testing O'Brien horses based there.

Racing Post reported that top Caulfield Cup hopeful Anthony Van Dyck and Melbourne Cup contender Tiger Moth just arrived in Australia to prepare for those races.

The O'Brien horses are fed products made by Gain Equine Nutrition, which warned customers that some batches of some of its products may have been contaminated with zilpaterol. Zilpaterol is not permitted in Europe but is commonly used in the States by cattle farmers to add weight to cows. It is a beta agonist and therefore could have anabolic-like side effects.

A French lab detected zilpaterol in urine samples taken from O'Brien horses after the company's warning.

“Racing Victoria (RV) can advise that its integrity services team are liaising with Irish trainers Aidan and Joseph O'Brien regarding the circumstances that led to the stable scratching runners in France and Ireland across the weekend due to concerns regarding the alleged contamination of horse feed that it utilizes.

“Reports from both trainers and international racing authorities are that feed used by both stables has been found in Europe to be contaminated with the prohibited substance Zilpaterol.

“Following discussions with the O'Brien stables, RV stewards have today conducted out of competition testing on their horses at Werribee to determine whether Zilpaterol is currently in any of the horse's systems. The results of these tests may take up to one week.

“Furthermore, both stables have confirmed to RV stewards today that they have ceased using feed from the provider in question.”

Learn more about feed contamination in this 2015 Paulick Report feature.

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