Trainer Noel Mayfield-Smith has revealed that the 2015 William Reid Stakes could be the major autumn target for talented sprinter Famous Seamus.
Famous Seamus will have the chance to add another Group 1 victory to his racing resume during the 2015 Melbourne Festival Of Racing. Photo by: Steve Hart
Famous Seamus scored his maiden win at the highest level of racing when he took out the Group 1 BTC Cup (1200m) during the 2014 Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival and he proved that performance was no fluke with a string of impressive performances during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival.
The Elusive City gelding started his campaign with a third place finish behind Terravista in the Group 2 The Shorts (1100m) at Royal Randwick on September 20 and he returned to winning form in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) at the same venue on October 4.
Famous Seamus returned to Group 1 level in the Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on October 24 and he finished a close third despite having no luck before he went on to finish a credible sixth in the Group 1 Darley Classic (1200m) at Flemington on November 8.
The six-year-old has shown that he is capable of being more than competitive when he takes on the best sprinters in Australia, but Mayfield-Smith told Sky Racing HQ that he may elect to dodge the likes of Terravista, Chautauqua and Lankan Rupee in the Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick on April 4 and instead sent his star galloper to Melbourne for the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley a week earlier.
“I may take him to Melbourne for the William Reid instead of going to the T.J. Smith,” Mayfield-Smith said.
“It will just all depend.
“It will obviously be a very strong race the T.J. Smith with the very best there is and if I thought I was a very good chance in the William Reid then we would go to the William Reid purely because you are a better chance of winning another race and winning the major end of the prizemoney.
“He has gone very well at Moonee Valley before.”
Famous Seamus raced without any additional gear during his spring preparation, but Mayfield-Smith said that he is toying with the idea of putting blinkers on the six-year-old when he returns to the races in the autumn.
Mayfield-Smith said that Famous Seamus seemed a little bit hesitant to run between other horses when he was caught in the middle of the pack in the Darley Classic and he is hoping that the application of blinkers will help the gelding run through some tighter gaps this campaign.
“I was thinking about just trying winkers on him,” Mayfield-Smith said.
“When he first started racing he raced in blinkers because he was field shy and a bit reluctant to race on the inside of horses.
“I took them off him because he started to get a bit keen and I just thought in the Darley that he just needed something to sharpen him up between horses.
“He just seemed a bit reluctant to take a tighter sort of run when they presented in that race.”
Famous Seamus has recorded 10 race wins from his 35 race starts and accumulated over $1 million in prizemoney for connections.
