Desert delivers following 'dumbfounding' debut For-sale Indigo Desert landed a gamble to win on his second career start at Dundalk today, beating 200/1 chance Mads Black Eights into second in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Dundalk Maiden. Indigo Desert, a son of Exceed And Excel, was beaten 31 lengths when finishing tenth of 13 on Curragh debut in September and today tightened from 16/1 this morning to 13/2 on the show, before returning 9/2. In the race and under jockey Ronan Whelan, Indigo Desert stayed on well in the closing stages to beat Mads Black Eights by a length and a half. Afterwards winning trainer Michael Halford revealed “he's a grand horse and I liked him a lot all along. I ran him at the Curragh and often a horse would disappoint you but I was absolutely dumbfounded. “Ronan (Whelan) came in and said 'I've never rode a horse that got as much stage fright' and said he completely and utterly lost his life.” He added “we brought him along and he loves that good surface. He was asleep floating around there today and Ronan said he'd better pick him up and when he did he got there a mile too soon. “He ran around and he's very green but has the makings of a lovely horse. He has a great mind, a lovely action and that (1m2f) is probably a good trip for him. I'd say there is a lot of improvement in him. “He's on the market. We bought ten horses in a syndicate and nine of them are gone. He's the last of them and they were all horses we bought to sell on.” Quotes from Gary Carson
