WillowWarm Gold Cup Chase |
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| Grade 1, Fairyhouse 17:00 €100,000 added, 5yo plus, 2m 4f, Class 1  |
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1 Fleur In The Park 22/1
2
Kappa Jy Pyke 11/4J
3
Jimmy Du Seuil 8/1
8 ran NR: Kala Conti Distances: 2¾l, 3¾l, 4l
Time: 5m 30.50s (slow by 27.50s)
𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 causes a 22-1 shock in the WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ji38DepI8c
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 5, 2026
There are occasions in top-level company when the script appears firmly written, only for events to take an altogether different turn, and so it proved when Fleur In The Park emerged from relative obscurity to claim a decisive and rather unexpected success.
Sent off at 22/1 and the outsider of the eight-runner field following the late withdrawal of Kala Conti, Andrew Slattery’s charge arrived with little to recommend him on recent form, having finished a well-held fifth in Grade Three company at Thurles. Yet, in a race that gradually unravelled for many of the principals, patience and precision proved more valuable than reputation, with Cian Quirke content to bide his time towards the rear as the early pace was set by the well-fancied Sixmilebridge.
The British raider, one of the joint-favourites, cut out much of the running but never quite found fluency at his fences, and those minor imperfections began to take their toll as the race developed. Errors crept in, momentum ebbed, and by the third-last the complexion had changed, not least when Pure Steel made a significant mistake and departed, while further drama unfolded as Predator’s Gold came down, bringing Western Fold with him and leaving the race suddenly open.
Jimmy Du Seuil briefly assumed command, with Kappa Jy Pyke also pressing, but it was Fleur In The Park who seized the moment. Travelling strongly into contention, he initially sought a route up the inside before being forced to switch as Jacob’s Ladder edged across his path. The manoeuvre might have halted lesser horses, but not here. A fluent leap at the final fence sealed the initiative, and from there he found more than enough to assert, drawing clear by two and three-quarter lengths, with further daylight back to the remainder.
In a race that appeared to favour the established names, it was instead a performance defined by timing, opportunity and resolution, and one that ensured Fleur In The Park’s name would be added, somewhat unexpectedly, to the roll of honour.
WillowWarm Gold Cup Chase
Grade 1 €100,000 added,
5yo plus, 2m 4f, Class 1
8 ran
Going: Yielding to Soft, Soft in places
