Snow Fairy’s Magic To Return After Eclipse Run

The 2011 Eclipse Stakes certainly lived up to the expectations and it produced one of the greatest battles we’ve seen for a long time.

Just as everyone expected it was Workforce verse So You Think down the main straight with the Aussie champion proving to be just too good on the day.

There was one more contender given a hope pre-race though and you could be forgiven for forgetting about the horse given what happened up front.

Snow Fairy is a proven Group 1 champion in her own right and the Eclipse Stakes was her first run back from a spell.

It wasn’t something trainer Ed Dunlop wanted to do but heavy rain in Ireland the week prior forced him to shelve plans of running some fitness into her in the Pretty Polly Stakes.

What it does mean though is she should now be in much better order for her next assignment, the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.

She ended up running home fourth in the Eclipse, not far away form third but well clear of the two break away leaders.

“Snow Fairy ran very much as I expected,” Dunlop said.

“This was her first appearance since she won in Hong Kong in December and she was race-rusty.

“She hit a bit of a flat spot and was not suited by the track but I told anybody who would listen that she would need the race and so it proved.

“This was an exceptional renewal of the Eclipse and So You Think and Workforce are two top-class colts, but Snow Fairy will hopefully improve a fair bit after such a long absence.

“The plan is to revert to her own sex and take in the Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, which is one of my favourite meetings of the year.”

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