Irish Saint was a gutsy winner of the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle at Kempton

Last updated: 23rd February 2013   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Kempton. Click here to bet.

irish saint 2 full

Irish Saint: Hard-fought victory

Irish Saint produced a gutsy effort to land the Grade 2 Racing UK Subscribe For Cheltenham Adonis Juvenile Hurdle.

Paul Nicholls' gelding had been backed throughout the morning as if defeat were out of the question but having looked in trouble as they began to turn in, he picked up strongly to respond to Ruby Walsh's urgings.

With the majority of the contest run at no more than a medium gallop, there were plenty of chances held with a couple of flights to take with Vasco Du Ronceray and his stablemate, Courtesy Call, both in good postions.

As the debutant weakened out of matters, Barry Geraghty was forced to go for home and while the grey battled on gamely, he was unable to repel the challenge of the well-supported favourite.

The pair finished some eight lengths clear of the Alan King-trained L'Unique.

"I'll have to talk to the owner properly but I suspect we'll end up going to Aintree for either the juvenile or the two-and-a-half against older horses," said Nicholls, whose Triumph hero Zarkandar lifted the Adonis two years ago.

"He didn't run on the Flat and it's only three weeks until Cheltenham. With six weeks until Aintree I can get him a good bit better."

The winner was clipped into 16/1 from 20/1 for the Triumph Hurdle with Sky Bet.