3 minute read

Argentinian-bred galloper Iron Man lived up to his bold name after he recorded a steely win in the $80,000 Royal Western India Turf Club Trophy, an Open Benchmark 74 race over 1400m on Sunday.

Prepared by Ricardo Le Grange, the four-year-old by Hidden Truth had yet to salute in six previous starts, but his last-start closing second to Guilty Pleasures in a 1400m race for Benchmark 67 horses on March 12 was the first indication he was reaching his peak.

Settled in the gun spot outside leader and race-favourite B'Nevagivup (Vlad Duric), Iron Man ($31) enjoyed a sweet run in transit before coming off the bridle for Barend Vorster at the 300m as they geared up for their assault.

On the outside, Shanghai Bund (Glen Boss) looked to be travelling the best as he joined the fight to make a line of three, but back on the rails, B’Nevagivup was proving just that – not giving up an inch - and for a second or two, it looked like he would hang on to his narrow margin over Shanghai Bund.

Flanked by the duelling pair, Iron Man, who is not the biggest horse at Kranji, was giving the impression he could not quite overpower the two towering presences by his side, but under Vorster’s relentless riding, he mustered a late burst to sling shot right through for a short-head win on B’Nevagivup.

Chase (Olivier Placais) ran third another one length away. The winning time was 1min 22.77secs for the 1400m on the Short Course.

Le Grange said Iron Man had been a bit of work in progress from the day he landed, but he had slowly blossomed out. The first-season trainer said he was expecting a forward run, even if the seven furlongs did cast a few doubts.

“The 1400m was always my main concern, but it was a race I had to put him in first,” said the South African mentor.

“I still had a lot of confidence in him, even if I thought he is now looking for further. Barend rode his guts out to get the win, he won the race for us.

“Those Argentinian horses have a strong will to win, but this one took a bit of time to come right as he had travel sickness when he arrived.

“But he’s slowly picked up and it’s great to see him win for the Thai owners today.”

A four-year-old by Hidden Truth, Iron Man was scoring his first win in seven starts for prizemoney that has reached around the $65,000 mark for the Falcon Racing No 4 Stable.

A suitably impressed Vorster said he was not surprised by the hard graft shown by Iron Man inside the last 300m.

“Today, there was not much speed early and I was able to get him in a good spot outside the leader,” said the South African jockey.

“As it turned into a nice solid pace, he was able to get through quite well. When a horse (Shanghai Bund) came to my outside, the more he kept fighting.

“He came under a lot of pressure but he just kept picking up. It got a bit close between runners at one stage, but he stuck his head out for a solid win.

“This is not his trip, though. He will get a mile.”