3:25 – Leopardstown – HERITAGE STAKES (LISTED RACE) (4yo+) Good 1m
Dermot Weld starts Famous Name’s season off in the Heritage Stakes at Leopardstown today, which is exactly what he has done the previous two seasons. Famous Name will definitely feel at home here as this will be his 14th start at the course.
The 7 year old bay horse carries top weight today and will prove a formidable opponent even though he is giving weight to younger and more progressive horses such as John Oxx’s Sharestan, as he has won this race in both of the last two seasons.
Famous Name has been campaigned superbly well throughout his career. He is just short of top class but has earned his connections over £1,000,000 by mopping up Group 3 and Listed races. He has won 14 times in his career of which all but one win has been in Listed and Group 3 races.
He has run at Leopardstown 13 times winning 9 times and being placed on two other occasions. Over today’s trip of 1 mile he has run ten times and had won on seven occasions. In fact he has run 5 times over 1 mile at Leopardstown he has won every time.
He has run on Good ground 12 times winning 4 times and being placed 5 times. Three of his wins in the going have come at Leopardstown. Pat Smullen rides again today and knows his partner very well as he has ridden him on all but one of his 29 starts.
Famous Name is not getting any younger but he has made a career out of mopping up Listed and Group 3 races and probably has enough fire power to get his head in front on his seasonal reappearance for the fourth time in five seasons.
