Countdown well underway to this weekend’s Fairyhouse Winter Festival
Tuesday, 28 November 2023
Last year’s Hatton’s Grace hero Teahupoo Jumping up aside Honeysuckle in the 2022 Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle
Cheltenham Festival hero Impaire Et Passe, last year’s winner Teahupoo and rising star Buddy One top the remaining seven entries for this Sunday’s Grade 1 Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse.
Willie Mullins has left both Impaire Et Passe, which included the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham among his four wins last season, and Ashroe Diamond in the race while Teahupoo, Irish Point and Beacon Edge are the remaining contenders for Gordon Elliott. Buddy One continues to climb the ladder and he could yet represent trainer Paul Gilligan.
The first of three Grade 1 races on the day is the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle and Gordon Elliott has left three in the race, What’s Up Darling, winner of the Grade 3 For Auction Novice Hurdle at Navan earlier this month, Farren Glory and King Of Kingsfield.
An Tobar, a course and distance winner at the beginning of the month, and the Naas maiden hurdle winner Slade Steel are still in with a shout for Henry de Bromhead with both Bialystok and Horantzau D’airy standing their ground for Willie Mullins. Tom Mullins’ Punchestown maiden hurdle winner Fascile Mode completes the latest line up.
Seven horses remain in the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase and Gordon Elliott leads the way with an entry of three as he seeks an eighth win in the race. Last week’s Punchestown winner Favori De Champdou, American Mike, impressive beating Fact To File over this distance at the recent Navan Racing Festival and the easy Down Royal winner Found A Fifty are the Cullentra contenders while Gavin Cromwell has his Cork winner Letsbeclearaboutit and Perceval Legallois, with Irish Grand National winner I Am Maximus, on his last day as a novice, and multiple Grade 1-winning hurdler Sharjah the Willie Mullins hopefuls.
Away from the trio of Grade 1 races, the Bar One Racing ‘Extra Places’ Handicap Hurdle features on a strong supporting card and among the 19 going forward are the recent Cork winners Flamborough and Conyers Hill, trained by Tom Gibney and Paul Nolan respectively and the early top-weight Magic Tricks, on the mark for Gordon Elliott at Down Royal on his most recent start.
There are 22 entries for the Bar One Racing Porterstown Handicap Chase with the Robert Tyner-trained Sir Bob and Declan Queally’s My Design among them.
Peter Roe, General Manager of Fairyhouse Racecourse, said: “The weekend is once again shaping up to be the most informative jumps meeting in the first half of the season. In 2022, six subsequent Cheltenham festival winners ran on the Sunday, more than any other fixture. This year looks like being equally informative with proven stars like Impaire Et Passe, Teahupoo and Sharjah scheduled to run along with exciting performers such as An Tobar, Found A Fifty and Letsbeclearaboutit.
“The ground is currently soft and with fresh ground on both days the racing surface is in top shape and with the forecast of a nice crisp weekend.”
Click here for the entries at Fairyhouse on Saturday
Click here for the entries at Fairyhouse on Sunday
Willie Mullins has left both Impaire Et Passe, which included the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham among his four wins last season, and Ashroe Diamond in the race while Teahupoo, Irish Point and Beacon Edge are the remaining contenders for Gordon Elliott. Buddy One continues to climb the ladder and he could yet represent trainer Paul Gilligan.
The first of three Grade 1 races on the day is the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle and Gordon Elliott has left three in the race, What’s Up Darling, winner of the Grade 3 For Auction Novice Hurdle at Navan earlier this month, Farren Glory and King Of Kingsfield.
An Tobar, a course and distance winner at the beginning of the month, and the Naas maiden hurdle winner Slade Steel are still in with a shout for Henry de Bromhead with both Bialystok and Horantzau D’airy standing their ground for Willie Mullins. Tom Mullins’ Punchestown maiden hurdle winner Fascile Mode completes the latest line up.
Seven horses remain in the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase and Gordon Elliott leads the way with an entry of three as he seeks an eighth win in the race. Last week’s Punchestown winner Favori De Champdou, American Mike, impressive beating Fact To File over this distance at the recent Navan Racing Festival and the easy Down Royal winner Found A Fifty are the Cullentra contenders while Gavin Cromwell has his Cork winner Letsbeclearaboutit and Perceval Legallois, with Irish Grand National winner I Am Maximus, on his last day as a novice, and multiple Grade 1-winning hurdler Sharjah the Willie Mullins hopefuls.
Away from the trio of Grade 1 races, the Bar One Racing ‘Extra Places’ Handicap Hurdle features on a strong supporting card and among the 19 going forward are the recent Cork winners Flamborough and Conyers Hill, trained by Tom Gibney and Paul Nolan respectively and the early top-weight Magic Tricks, on the mark for Gordon Elliott at Down Royal on his most recent start.
There are 22 entries for the Bar One Racing Porterstown Handicap Chase with the Robert Tyner-trained Sir Bob and Declan Queally’s My Design among them.
Peter Roe, General Manager of Fairyhouse Racecourse, said: “The weekend is once again shaping up to be the most informative jumps meeting in the first half of the season. In 2022, six subsequent Cheltenham festival winners ran on the Sunday, more than any other fixture. This year looks like being equally informative with proven stars like Impaire Et Passe, Teahupoo and Sharjah scheduled to run along with exciting performers such as An Tobar, Found A Fifty and Letsbeclearaboutit.
“The ground is currently soft and with fresh ground on both days the racing surface is in top shape and with the forecast of a nice crisp weekend.”
Click here for the entries at Fairyhouse on Saturday
Click here for the entries at Fairyhouse on Sunday