1 Sep 2020Punters that took the $1.30 about talented three-year-old The Irishman would have had their hearts in their mouths when the son of Tavistock stepped slowly from the barriers on debut over 1100m at Avondale on Wednesday on a Heavy10 surface.
But the Tony Pike-trained colt flagged himself as a horse with a bright future after closing well from near the tail of the field to run down leader True Blessing in the shadows of the post.
“It was a pretty big effort,” Pike said. “They went very slow, he hated the track and at the half-mile I thought he was in a power of pain.
“He is such a beautiful-actioned horse that I didn’t really want to run him today, but we had to get the show on the road with the better three-year-old races in mind.
“Obviously further is going to be better for him as well. Class just got him through and he is a very promising horse going forward and we just need some tracks to start firming up.”
Purchased for $170,000 at Karaka as a yearling from the draft of Cambridge Stud, The Irishman is out of a Zabeel mare and will be set on a Guineas path.
“We will give him a quiet few days after racing on a heavy track and nothing is set in stone, but we will look for a decent program heading towards the Hawke’s Bay Guineas (Gr.2, 1400m).
“He is so brilliant in his trackwork and being by Tavistock out of a Zabeel mare you’d think he would get 2000m without a problem, but he has just got that bit of class and brilliance about him that is taking him a fair way at this point in time.
“There are plenty of options for him going forward. He is going to win a good race somewhere at three.” - NZ Racing Desk