Iberico Lord makes winning chase debut

The six-year-old was a 13/8 shot for the ‘Book Christmas Festival Hospitality Now’ Beginners’ Chase at Kempton, his first outing since being pulled up in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

His jumping warmed up in the latter stages of a two-and-a-quarter-mile contest and he beat Leave Of Absence by a length and a half.

Grade Two winner and favourite Gidleigh Park made mistakes at the fourth and fifth obstacles and was swiftly pulled up by Bryan Carver, with a subsequent stewards’ report revealing the six-year-old was found to have an irregular heartbeat.

“He started the race looking like a hurdler and finished it looking like a steeplechaser and that’s what it’s all about. It’s got to be education, education, education and I think that’s what happened – he learnt all the way,” Henderson told Racing TV.

“As Nico (de Boinville) said, when he’s going that little bit quicker he’s finding it easier. I hope Gidleigh Park’s all right as that would have been mighty interesting for sure. I feel sorry for Harry (Fry) because he’s obviously a high-class horse and we’re not to know what would have happened.

“It’s always been a good race. The original plan was to bring Sir Gino here, we are going back to the hurdle route with him for the moment, but both Shishkin and Altior started here.

“He (Iberico Lord) could do with another race like this, I know they’re boring but that’s how we make them at the end of the day. If you want chasers they’ve got to come through the system and he needs the education.

“The Wayward Lad round here wouldn’t be the worst thing, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to go round Ascots and Cheltenhams with him I must admit. I think he needs to learn a bit more.”

Meanwhile, Dan Skelton’s Kateira claimed the Racing TV Mares’ Hurdle with a two-and-three-quarter-length verdict in this Listed event.

Skelton said: “We could possibly go for the new race at Doncaster on December 14 (Doncaster Mares’ Hurdle), we’ll see how the weather turns up for her there.

“Today it was soft enough for her, but she just had the numbers above her rivals to cope with it. We got her beat in the race last year when it was three miles, so it was a sensational bit of work from the race planning team!

“Some days it suits you and some days it doesn’t. I’m sure I’ll be here one day with a mare that wants three miles over two and a half, but two and a half today really suited her.

“She’s had a couple of goes in those handicaps at Aintree and maybe it’s time to let her have a go in the Grade One if conditions really suit.”