Strong entries for Fairyhouse Grade 1 races

Cheltenham Festival winners Jango Baie and Lecky Watson are among the 22 entries for the 2m4f WillowWarm Gold Cup, the first of two Grade 1 contests at Fairyhouse on Easter Sunday, April 20.

Nicky Henderson’s Jango Baie would be going up in distance after his last-gasp success in Cheltenham’s two-mile Arkle Chase while the Willie Mullins-trained Lecky Watson was victorious over an extended three miles in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.

Not short of options, Mullins has also entered his Grade 1 Dublin Racing Festival winner Ballyburn who was fifth behind Lecky Watson at Cheltenham, the Limerick Grade 1 winner Impaire Et Passe, two-time chase winner Ile Atlantique and last weekend’s Limerick scorer Fun Fun Fun.

The Mullins-trained Spindleberry saw off the Gavin Cromwell-trained Bioluminescence to take the Listed Irish EBF Colreevy Mares Novice Chase at Fairyhouse in late February and they also feature.

The Grade 1 Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase winner Croke Park, Firefox, Down Memory Lane and Shecouldbeanything have been entered by Gordon Elliott while Common Practice and Jordans are there for Joseph O'Brien with Slade Steel a possible contender for Henry de Bromhead.

A fascinating rematch between de Bromhead’s Air Of Entitlement and the Gavin Cromwell-trained Sixandahalf is on the cards in the Grade 1 Irish EBF Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle on the same Easter Sunday programme.

The pair finished first and second respectively in the Grade 2 Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival where there was only half a length between them.

De Bromhead certainly holds the strongest of hands in the race named in honour of his superstar mare Honeysuckle as he has also entered his Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle runner-up The Big Westerner.

Willie Mullins’ team of 10 entries includes Karoline Banbou who was fourth in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, and Maughreen, which lost all chance at the start in the same Cheltenham race.

The champion trainer has also given entries to Hey Sunshine, Sainte Tartare and Aurora Vega. The latter has won twice at the track including the Grade 3 SBK Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle in January.

The race has also attracted five British-trained horses with Jamie Snowden and Fergal O’Brien entering Hollygrove Cha Cha and That’ll Do Moss respectively, the pair separated by only a shorthead when first and second in a Grade 2 at Sandown last month. Nicky Henderson is responsible for the Listed hurdle winner Holloway Queen, That’s Nice and Khrisma.

Peter Roe, General Manager of Fairyhouse Racecourse, said: “The entries for this year’s Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup are very exciting and the race has huge depth at this stage. It is great to have two winners from the recent Cheltenham Festival as well as the likes of Croke Park, Ballyburn and Impaire Et Passe, already Grade 1 winners themselves.

“The Irish EBF Honeysuckle Novice Hurdle is also set to be a strong renewal with the first, second and fourth from the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival all featuring along with Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle runner-up The Big Westerner. The Grade 3 SBK Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle is a traditional trial for this race, and I’m delighted to see its winner Aurora Vega and runner-up Dream On Baby among the entries too.

“The entries for the early closing races for our Easter Festival have all proved very strong and we are gearing up for an exciting meeting which is now just over three weeks away.”