IT MAY be 17 days and several postponements late but Fairyhouse’s “Winter Festival” card tomorrow is set to be well worth waiting for, with one racing boss describing it as “probably the greatest day’s racing ever” in Ireland.
Yesterday’s cancellation of the John Durkan Memorial Chase card, scheduled to be run at Punchestown today, means that Grade One feature has been switched to tomorrow and the Grade Two O’Connell Group Hilly Way Chase, twice postponed at Cork over the weekend, has also been moved to Fairyhouse.
Along with the three Grade One races that are already part of the “Winter Festival” – the Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, the Drinmore Chase and the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle – the cold snap has conspired to produce a midweek bonanza for race-fans.
Fairyhouse passed an inspection yesterday and although temperatures are forecast to dip tonight, hopes are high that a prestige card which has been postponed on four occasions can finally go ahead.
Horse Racing Ireland’s chief executive Brian Kavanagh was keenly anticipating the meeting yesterday and said: “If the weather behaves it looks like it could be the greatest day’s racing ever.”
The Fairyhouse manager Peter Roe agreed with that and said: “We are delighted to stage what is arguably the best day’s National Hunt racing ever to take place in Ireland.
“We will continue to monitor the weather but at the moment there is no frost in the ground and we just pray that we will get some reprieve.”
Temperatures overnight could get down to minus three but the course authorities are very optimistic that won’t result in problems.
Admission to Fairyhouse tomorrow will be €10 despite the track having offered free entry after the original cancellation when over half a foot of snow covered the course.
“We have now lost four fixtures since we were originally due to run on November 27th and we have to try and make something,” Roe said yesterday.
“It is a commercial decision and we think €10 for such a card is very good value.”
The first race is due to start at 11.50 and the ground yesterday was officially “soft”.
The big names that have been waiting to run in the Grade One contests all appear set to take their chance with Solwhit and Hurricane Fly due to head the cast in the two and a half mile Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.
One star name that won’t be appearing, however, is the English stalwart, The Listener, who will not attempt to emulate his 2007 victory in the Durkan and will instead wait for the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas.
“We’re putting a line through the John Durkan as it’s been too much of a mix-up for us,” said trainer Nick Mitchell yesterday. “The horse is still at home and has not got on a boat so we’ve decided to go straight for the Lexus.”
He added: “It would have been nice to have run in the John Durkan as he’s in such good form, but after his injury we didn’t want to take him over to Ireland and then find out it was off again.
“It is unfortunate but those are the cards we’ve been dealt and the Lexus is only a fortnight away, so we’ll keep our powder dry and go for that.”
