Indian Pace

The Ladies Derby Handicap at The Curragh on Sunday wasn’t run to suit Indian Pace at all. The well-backed Taralga, under an astute ride from Adrienne Foley, was allowed a really easy time of it up front, so much so that the rider apparently looked around at the half-way stage and couldn’t believe how far she was in front given how slowly she was going. Indian Pace is a horse who needs to be covered up, he can’t be in front for too long. When you are riding such a horse, you are a hostage to fortune, your hands are tied, you are dependent on others to force a pace. So when Taralga kicked at the top of the home straight, she quickly went clear and had so much in reserve that she just wasn’t for catching. Indian Pace took a little while to get going in among horses out in the centre of the track but, once he did, he picked up well and finished best of all to take fourth place.

John Kiely’s gelding is obviously well on track now for Galway again, and he goes there in really good form. He finished third in this race last year on his way to Galway, where he finished fifth in the GPT Handicap on the first evening and then won the Galway Hurdle on the Thursday, when he was apparently Kiely’s second string at the start of the week when his stable companion King Rama was ante post favourite. The rains came just on time for Indian Pace’s Galway Hurdle challenge last year, and he obviously had the fast pace in that race that he needs. He is now rated 10lb higher over hurdles than he was last year, but he is 1lb lower on the flat. He obviously likes it at Galway – the fast pace that they invariably go at the Festival and the stiff uphill finish obviously suit – and, if he happened to get his favoured soft ground at Ballybrit, he would be of major interest in whatever he contests.

11th July 2009