Fast finishing Lorenzo lands Fairyhouse’s opener Fast-finishing I Am Lorenzo (11/1) gained a first career success in Fairyhouse’s opening Book Your Easter Festival Early Bird Tickets Beginners Chase today, defeating runner-up Coral River who had matched at 1.01 in-running. Placed four times previously in maiden hurdles, the Paul Nolan-trained I Am Lorenzo was today debuting over fences under jockey Sean Flanagan. While under pressure leader Coral River held a comfortable-looking advantage early on the run-in, was pegged back in the final strides with I Am Lorenzo scoring by a half-length. Champion Chase-winning jockey Flanagan reported “he’s generally not the strongest finisher in the world and I’d ridden the runner-up (Coral River) the last day, when I thought he was a strong stayer. “It was a dramatic enough drop back in trip for I Am Lorenzo and it’s obviously helped. He’s always travelled smart enough and then not stayed over further trips, so we said we’d roll the dice and drop him right back. He was well enough in at the weights too. “He travelled well, jumped fantastic today and is a big chaser.” Quotes from Gary Carson
