The Lion In Winter makes winning return High-class The Lion In Winter (11/10f) returned from hibernation to win Leopardstown’s featured Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Heritage Stakes, scoring smartly for owners the Coolmore partners and jockey Wayne Lordan. Last seen in December, The Lion In Winter bounced out of stalls smartly and having raced prominently, held on well to beat faster-finishing stablemate Expanded by a half-length. The Lion In Winter had previously broken York’s two-year-old track record for seven furlongs in 2024, and today winning trainer Aidan O'Brien reported “We’re delighted with him and he was just ready to start. “The plan was to come here and then go to the (Group 1) Lockinge. He has had a run now, obviously, before going to Newbury. He just got a bit tired but Wayne was very happy with him. He has a lot of racing to do this year. so we didn’t want to have him too ready starting off.” Regarding Expanded, he expanded “I’m delighted with the second horse, the plan was the same with him. He’ll go to the Lockinge as well. “We’ll find something for Gavin’s horse (Mississippi River, finished fifth) and he’ll come forward a good bit as well.” Quotes from Gary Carson
