Ed Dunlop confident of Snow Fairy’s immediate return
Trainer Ed Dunlop has issued an upbeat bulletin, saying that the 5-year-old mare, Snow Fairy, will be back in action very soon. The brilliant mare was last seen in November 2011, when she won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup at Kyoto.
Under Ryan Moore, she did a fantastic job right through the contest. Although she was not among the leaders early on, her wonderful work in the final stages of the race helped her bag the hefty cash prize worth £741,616.67. The 17-10 favourite beat Aventura
by a neck’s distance.
After proving her mettle in Japan, she started her preparations for the Hong Kong International meeting the following month. But Fair Show’s camp suffered a huge setback, when the dashing mare got herself injured during a practice session at the end of last
year.
She is yet to return to Dunlop’s yard after recovering from the injury, but the trainer is quite hopeful for her immediate comeback. Dunlop has set sights on some major events this season and Snow Fairy will surely be one of his strong representations.
The trainer said: "She hasn't returned to me yet, but she's ticking along and is back in ridden exercise. She isn't due to return to me for a few weeks yet and she'll be very much geared towards the second half of the season if all goes well.”
The Anamoine Limited-owned has won five Group 1 competitions so far in her career. She started her winning journey in July 2009, sealing the top rank in the Playstowe Maiden Auction Stakes (Div II) at Lingfield.
She was even more impressive the following year. In 2010, the mare registered five wins including an excellent hat-trick. She was slightly unlucky at the start of last season. Victories had dried up for the maverick runner before she unchained the shackles
in November last year.
There is still a lot to come for the 5-year-old, but Dunlop was not reluctant to admit that the mare will take some time to get back to her best.
"Last year she came back in the Eclipse, but she wouldn't be ready for that this year. We might be looking at something like the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood," he added.
Tags: