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South African filly impresses in notable QEII workout

Murray Bell

Star South African filly Irridescence really turned it on for the track watchers yesterday, with a powerful turf gallop that emphatically showed why she's one of the best middle-distance gallopers in her homeland.

Stephen Jell, assistant to trainer Mike de Kock, took the opportunity to use the Sha Tin course proper to give Irridescence and stablemate Falstaff their major preparatory gallop for Sunday's $14 million Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and was delighted with what he saw.

Irridescence, handled by race rider Weichong Marwing, travelled inside Falstaff (Douglas Whyte) and always appeared to have the measure of her stable companion without actually shaking him off.

The filly ran the 1,400 metres in 1:29.6, the last 400m in 22.8 seconds and the final 200m in 11.9. Marwing maintained a good hold on her throughout and scored by a half-length. By contrast, Whyte was hard at work on Falstaff to make him do what was needed.

Jell, who is on his fourth visit for the QEII, warned that there is not the gap between the pair that the gallop suggested.

'She did well, but that was pretty much what I had expected of her,' Jell began. 'She's always a good worker but Falstaff is not. You have to make him do it but he never looks impressive in the mornings - he saves himself up for race day.'

Marwing, who had the choice of the stablemates when deciding his QEII mount, was very satisfied with the gallop.

'She was very relaxed in the workout and I thought worked very well,' Marwing began. 'Mike wanted them to go steadily from the mile and quicken up from the 800m. Everything went according to plan and you couldn't really fault her work.'

Irridescence was the victim of an unfortunate upset on Dubai World Cup night when she ran into a piece of running rail before the start of the US$5 million Dubai Duty Free and became a late scratching.

'She won her lead-up race on the turf in Dubai and we thought she'd really make her presence felt in the Duty Free,' Marwing said. 'The main thing with her is that she has never previously been a good traveller. But this time, probably because she's getting a bit older and a bit more settled, she's seems to have taken the travelling very well.

'The other horse [Falstaff] is not the most impressive in the mornings - he never is. But he makes up for that with a real will to win, that makes his appearance in trackwork most deceiving.

'He's not a trackwork horse - he's one that peaks at a race meeting.'

Irridescence was one of South Africa's best three-year-old fillies last season and comfortably won the Group One Zimbali Lodge Woolavington Stakes over 2,200m at Greyville in Durban. At her next start, she ran fifth, beaten only a length, in South Africa's most valuable but toughest race, the Durban July, also over 2,200m.

'It's such a tough race that it's very difficult for a three-year-old filly to win it, but she ran a very good race to be only one length from the winner, Dunford, at the finish,' Marwing said.

The popular South African horseman said there would be very little between Irridescence and Falstaff, who at his last start finished third to top Japanese galloper Heart's Cry in the Dubai Sheema Classic (2,400m), beating home likely QEII favourite Ouija Board (fourth) by 31/2 lengths.

'I mainly went for Irridescence because of her pattern of racing,' he explained.

'When the tracks are quick in Hong Kong as they are at the moment, Sha Tin tends to play with a bias favouring horses racing closer to the lead.

'Iridescence will take a much more forward position than Falstaff, who tends to take a bit longer to find his feet, so I think that ability to race on the speed will be to her advantage.'

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