Persian picks up late to land opener Red Persian swooped late to land the spoils in the opening €30,000 Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Race at Leopardstown this evening. English raider Rufus King and Bella Figura duelled at the head of affairs in the seven furlong race and the later looked to be getting on top inside the final furlong. Red Persian was under pressure in fifth passing the furlong pole but Kevin Manning conjured another run from Patrick Prendergast's charge in the closing stages. He stormed home, along with newcomer Hyperlapse, and they grabbed Bella Figura close home. Red Persian got the verdict by neck from Hyperlapse with Bella Figura relegated to third, a further neck back. The Mark Johnston-trained Rufus King, sent off the 5/4 favourite, was a length-and-a-half back in fourth. It was third time lucky for 5/2 shot Red Persian after fine runner-up efforts on his first two runs behind smart prospects Beckford and Whitefountainfairy. “Kevin likes him but said for a horse on his third run he’s incredibly green. He is a bit of a baby, and we came here because of the great prizemoney,” said Prendergast. “I think he’s going to be a smart horse. He’s going to be a miler but he’s going to have to grow up. “He was all over the place the first day at the Curragh, and then at Fairyhouse when he was asked to quicken he just didn’t know what to do. “Immediate plans would be to give him a little holiday. That’s the owners (Persian Red Partnership) first winner. They are all from Dublin and it’s great for them as the last horse they had couldn’t run a message but they were good losers.” (Additional reporting by Alan Magee)
