Iridescent makes winning chase debut in handicap company

Iridescent stayed on strongly in the closing stages to make a winning chase debut in the two-mile-seven handicap at Downpatrick.

The Jonathan Fogarty-trained gelding had struck over hurdles at Ballinrobe late last month and followed up on his first start over the larger obstacles.

Kieran Callaghan sent his mount on going to the fourth last and he looked to have things in control running down the hill to the penultimate fence. Ardhill stayed on from an unpromising position and looked like he might make things interesting for a while but couldn't peg back Iridescent on the run-in as the 3/1 shot kept on gamely to record a two-length win.

Callaghan said: "He was having a good look at the first five or six fences and he was going right a bit. After that, we got into a nice enough rhythm.

"It is hard for a horses to come in off his hurdles mark into a handicap and, in fairness to him, once we got into that rhythm he was good.

"After five or six fences, he jumped very good.

"We rode similar enough to the last day - he stays really, really well.

"It will take a nice one to pass him when he is in front.

"I was in front way too soon, but I didn't really have a choice. I wasn't going to take a pull out of him when I'm going forward. I just had to roll away in front and try and keep filling him up.

"He will improve jumping-wise, he'd be entitled to improve from it. There's a few things that he can brush up on, but we will take today anyway."

(Quotes by Michael Graham)