Heffernan seeks big race success over hurdles Irish Derby winning jockey Seamie Heffernan has been booked to ride Fen Game, one of the leading fancies for the valuable Pierse Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday. Heffernan, who had three Irish Classic victories in 2008 for Aidan O'Brien, rode two winners over hurdles at Limerick's Christmas Festival. His prowess over the smaller obstacles did not go unnoticed with several trainers vying for his services, but it was Edward O'Grady who snapped up Heffernan. 'Mr O'Grady rang me. He said the horse had a light weight and asked me if I would like to ride him. I said I would,' he explained. 'It's a big field, but hopefully they'll go quick and sort themselves out and we'll get a split when we want it. You need a lot of luck in it but it's a big prize. His last run round Leopardstown was pretty good and I'm feeling good about it.' 'It's good for me to get a decent horse. I can pick and choose my rides but I really love riding over hurdles. I had a couple of offers in the race but I made a commitment to Mr O'Grady a while back that if he ran him I would ride it.'
