Thinking outside the box works for Dunlop

By Alan Conway

Sometimes it works to look beyond the here and now. For Ed Dunlop and the connections of Snow Fairy this is certainly true. Instead of going for gold at home they instead looked further afield at Japan where Snow Fairy landed the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup.

It seemed that further big race glory would not come Snow Fairy’s way as she missed both the Arc in Longchamp and the Champion Stakes at Newmarket. But Dunlop, buoyed by international success with Ouija Board in the past, knew that rich pickings lay further afield if he had a horse good enough. He did.

The race panned out beautifully for Snow Fairy. A 15/2 chance she was always travelling well. Given a great ride by Ryan Moore, Snow Fairy stuck to the rail when the rest of the field fanned out to score by four lengths. The form has a rock solid look to it as Snow Fairy defeated the fillies Triple Crown winner in Apapane comfortably. Jockey Ryan Moore was suitably impressed “She travelled very well and once she got room in the straight, she quickened smartly.”

Trainer Ed Dunlop was understandably thrilled with the performance “I think it has to rate as one of her best, if not her best run. She has loved being here, she has thrived on being here. Ryan gave her a brilliant ride, it all went incredibly well and we are very lucky to have her.”

In landing the Japanese Group 1 the daughter of Intikhab landed her connections a huge bonus along with her first place prize money. Thanks to her victories in the Epsom and Curragh Oaks Snow Fairy was eligible for a huge bonus if she finished in the first three in Japan. She secured her owners a 797,000 euro bonus along with the first prize of 1.5 million euro. Not a bad pay day at all.

The success of Snow Fairy in Japan has now opened up a world of opportunities for Ed Dunlop and his team. After the race Dunlop indicated that further travelling was on the cards for Snow Fairy. “She moves to Tokyo on Tuesday. She has an invitation for the Japan Cup. We will see how she is first before we even consider that. That said, she is in Hong Kong and we have not ruled that out either but we will see how she is.”

Much of the credit had to go to Dunlop and his team. They have campaigned their filly at a high level all season. She scored narrowly at Epsom before blitzing the field at the Curragh to land her two classics. Her stamina gave out on her in the Leger but Dunlop got her back firing on all cylinders to land her most recent Group 1. The connections of Snow Fairy must be in dreamland as a filly who cost very little is taking them on an international voyage. Next stop? It could be Japan, Hong Kong or even Dubai. With Snow Fairy they have a filly to take on the world. More an angel than a fairy.

By Alan Conway