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Easter Sunday, April 5th, Family Day at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival presents two Grade 1 contests for racing fans to enjoy.
The Grade 1 Irish EBF Honeysuckle Mares’ Novice Hurdle will be followed by the Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup and the first wave of entries promise two very competitive contests on the eve of the Boyle Sports Irish Grand National.
The great mare Honeysuckle won the race named in her honour in 2019. Other former winners include Annie Power, whose trainer Willie Mullins has plundered the race for the last four years, most recently with Aurora Vega and Jade De Grugy.
This time around Mullins has nine of the 26 entries, including high profile candidates such as Bambino Fever, Place De La Nation, Charme De Faust and Selma De Vary among others.
Gordon Elliott has three engaged in the two-and-a-half-mile test, headed by Oldschool Outlaw, who finished best of all these entries when runner-up in the Grade 2 Ryanair Mares’ Novice Hurdle over two miles and a furlong at Cheltenham last week. She was a winner at Fairyhouse earlier this season in the Grade 3 BetVictor Solerina Novice Hurdle.
There are four British entries, headed by Jackie Hobbs who ran fifth in the same mares’ novice at Prestbury Park for trainer Harry Derham.
Another to note is Zanoosh who made it four wins in a row in the Grade 3 Shannon Spray Hurdle at Limerick last week for trainer Colm Murphy and jockey Brian Hayes.
The Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup, for novice chasers over two and a half miles, always provides enthralling viewing and was won 12 months ago by Spindleberry for the Closutton team.
Mullins has 12 of the 28 entries for an event he has won six times in the past seven years, including with the likes of subsequent multiple Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Galopin Des Champs and Al Boum Photo.
Going further back, Dorans Pride, Captain Christy and the greatest of them all, Arkle, are among the former winners of this race.
Kitzbuhel, winner of the Grade 1 Brown Advisory at Cheltenham, headlines this year’s entries along with Final Demand who finished just behind him that day. Kaid D’Authie also features prominently after his Grade 1 victory at the Dublin Racing Festival in February.
Another Mullins contender, Grade 3 winner Kappa Jy Pike skipped Cheltenham specifically for this race and might be another one to look out for.
Gloucestershire-based trainer Fergal O’Brien has firm plans to run Sixmilebridge, winner of the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase over two and a half miles at Sandown and unbeaten in three starts over fences.
Gordon Elliott has five entered, headed by Romeo Coolio, winner of three Grade 1 races this season including an emphatic victory in the Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase over the course and distance at the Winter Festival.
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