Fleur In The Park (22/1) was a surprise winner in Sunday's WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse.
The two and a half-mile Grade 1 contest saw a field of eight go to post after Kala Conti's withdrawal and the Andrew Slattery-trained winner was the outsider of the party at 22/1 under jockey Cian Quirke.
He had finished a well-held fifth of six in a Grade 3 at Thurles last month but, having been waited with in rear for much of the contest, came through late to grab the spoils from Willie Mullins-trained pair Kappa Jy Pyke (11/4 joint-favourite) and Jimmy Du Seuil (8/1) who had to settle for second and third respectively. The winning margin was two and three-quarter lengths and three and three-quarter lengths.
Fergal O'Brien's Sixmilebridge (the other joint-favourite) cut out the early running but a series of fiddly jumping errors ultimately caught up with him as the chasing pack closed up at the third-last fence, which Pure Steel got all wrong and unseated Mark Walsh.
Jimmy Du Seuil went on, pressed by Jacob's Ladder and Predator's Gold under Paul Townend on the outside but when the latter fell and brought down Western Fold in the process, the door was left ajar for Fleur In The Park who looked to nip up the inside of his rivals approaching the last.
Jacob's Ladder cut across, forcing the eventual winner to switch, but he found plenty after a big leap at the final fence to record a memorable victory for his connections.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
Slattery said on Irishracing.com: “It’s great. This is my biggest day by a mile. I had a Group Two winner on the Flat (Creggs Pipes, 2017 Lanwades Stud Stakes). We’ve got a Grade One over jumps now and we’ll try to get a Group One on the Flat!”
He added: “We’ve sold a lot of Grade One horses through the years, we bought this horse as a foal and he was second in a Grade Two over hurdles, but we always thought he’d be a better chaser.
“He was unlucky to get beaten at Punchestown in a Grade Two and he got injured that day and was standing in a stable for a month. When he ran in Thurles he was only back on the go about six weeks and badly needed the run.
“We knew coming today that we had him as good as we could get him. I told the owners he won’t be out of the three. These moments don’t come too often and we’ll go to Punchestown now for the three-mile-one (Grade One novice chase).”
Randox Grand National features and previews
- The best Grand National performances on Timeform ratings
- Grand National fences: How they've shaped the race
- JockeyBox: Willie and Patrick Mullins reflections
- Simon Holt: The story of Spanish Steps
- John Ingles: Remembering Red Marauder's remarkable win in the mud
- Who are the main British hopes?
- 2026 Grand National preview podcast
- Dan Skelton: My Aintree squad
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.