Snow Fairy - A great Mare

Nulty

Snow Fairy made her return to racing after a tendon injury she sustained in Japan when winning the QEII for the second year running.

She had a pretty amazing year last year without winning before going to Japan. She contested five Group 1s in the course of the season finishing no worse than third in the Nassau, the Irish Champion, the Arc and the Champion Stakes in Britain. If she can win another Group 1 this year she will equal the seven won by Dunlop's other star mare Ouija Board.

A big disadvantage on the form books is that she'll be without Ryan Moore for the foreseeable future - he's unbeaten on her and is responsible for all her G1 wins.

Sometimes it takes a little reminding of where she came from and the fact that she was supplimented for the Oaks, the doubt that she would stay the trip and the fact that now having won £3.66M, she cost just £1,800.

She's won G1 races in England, Ireland (classics no less & 8l at the Curragh), Hong Kong and Japan. She finished fourth in the St. Leger having not seen out the trip third in the Arc and it looks like she is as good as ever winning on her comeback this year. Will she have another crack at the Irish Champion and the Arc and off to the East then? Where ever she goes I'll be cheering her on.

It would be hard to leave her out of your top three favourite horses in training, wouldn't it?

Overthelast

There is a good write up on her in yesterday's rp, in the supplement/pull out section. Funny story about her "escaping" from her box one night & having a right old time of it at the stable until she was eventually rounded up.

Nulty

Sorry I missed that. Sounds like a good piece. I love hearing about the home life of horses and their characters contrasted with their on course performances

Nulty

Make that 7 G1s now to match Ouija Board. Class mare and if she was injured less that number could have been more. I can't believe she was that big a price for the Arc before hand. She was a good 3rd in it last year. Doubt she can match Danedreams performance in the race last year.

akelly02

Great Mare, really good to watch but there are a couple better. Snow Fairy couldnt beat the Top class Midday on any occasion. In turn, Midday couldnt get the better of Sariska. Sariska has to be top of the mares list, even tho Midday was my favourite, followed by snow fairy

UrbanSea

In turn Sariska couldn't get near Dar Re Mi, who was one of my favourite mares, if not my favourite.

akelly02

forgot Da Re Mi. im only following racing a few years and she was around at the very beginning

Nulty

akelly02 wrote: »

Great Mare, really good to watch but there are a couple better. Snow Fairy couldnt beat the Top class Midday on any occasion. In turn, Midday couldnt get the better of Sariska. Sariska has to be top of the mares list, even tho Midday was my favourite, followed by snow fairy

That doesn't make Midday better. Collateral form shows she just couldn't beat her on those days. Snow Fairy beat her home in the Champion Stakes last year. Midday never won a mixed race in her career.

Nulty

Dar Re Mi was a favourite of mine too. Robbed in France by Stacelita, wasn't it? Well, the stewards. But Sariska never won a mixed race either and Dar Re Mi didn't reach her potential. Snow Fairy has all the things these horse have as well as the fairy tail rags to riches story and she's still going. Arc, Champions Stakes and Breeders Cup make up the possibilities.

akelly02

Snow Fairy twice had a chance to beat Midday but couldnt get past. Yorkshire Oaks 2010.. And even more so in the Nassau the following year..Frankie breezed up beside Midday but couldnt get past. I would say you couldnt claim SF to be better than Midday, even though they are 2 wonderful mares

Nulty

akelly02 wrote: »

Snow Fairy twice had a chance to beat Midday but couldnt get past. Yorkshire Oaks 2010.. And even more so in the Nassau the following year..Frankie breezed up beside Midday but couldnt get past. I would say you couldnt claim SF to be better than Midday, even though they are 2 wonderful mares

I just told you she beat her home in the Champion Stakes last year. By two lengths. I'm not trying to say that she is better, just that she has matched her and achieved more.

akelly02

I know that, but that day neither of them won, so it doesnt make much difference. Hope SF goes for the Arc rather than the Opera

UrbanSea

Nulty wrote: »

Dar Re Mi was a favourite of mine too. Robbed in France by Stacelita, wasn't it? Well, the stewards. But Sariska never won a mixed race either and Dar Re Mi didn't reach her potential. Snow Fairy has all the things these horse have as well as the fairy tail rags to riches story and she's still going. Arc, Champions Stakes and Breeders Cup make up the possibilities.

I wouldn't say she never reached her potential. She just improved with age, beat Sariska who was the best of the three year olds by a mile, won the Vermeille before getting done in the worst call of the history, beaten about 2 lengths by Sea the Stars in the Arc and then wins the Sheema Classic, should have won a breeders cup too but Frankie gave her a terrible ride and got her boxed in

Nulty

akelly02 wrote: »

I know that, but that day neither of them won, so it doesnt make much difference. Hope SF goes for the Arc rather than the Opera

Of course it matters. That's what form is based on, you can't just ignore the form of the horses that are beaten.

She'll definitely go for the Arc, if she goes to France.

Nulty

UrbanSea wrote: »

I wouldn't say she never reached her potential. She just improved with age, beat Sariska who was the best of the three year olds by a mile, won the Vermeille before getting done in the worst call of the history, beaten about 2 lengths by Sea the Stars in the Arc and then wins the Sheema Classic, should have won a breeders cup too but Frankie gave her a terrible ride and got her boxed in

She was very good, like I said, but Snow Fairy has all those things and more. I think at least we can agree that Snow Fairy has matched all those mares achievements (luckily no one has mentioned Goldikova yet ), and I guess that's the point I'm making. Those mares are great for one reason or another and SF has matched them and can at least be called their equals.

akelly02

ok i dont mean completely dis-regard it. But on head to head Midday is 2-1. in a race where only the 2 of them were competing, if you were betting, Midday would be favourite as they have met 3 times, and beaten SF twice.

UrbanSea

I don't know why but I never warmed to her particularly.

akelly02

I always adired Goldikovas achievments but didnt like her trainer. Plus in the last 2 years she was very beatable. Paco Boy should have beaten her in the Queen Anne 2010, and i knew Canford cliffs would beat her in 2011. Paddy power were offering a generous double that day, Caonford Cliffs and Frankel 5/2!!

Nulty

akelly02 wrote: »

ok i dont mean completely dis-regard it. But on head to head Midday is 2-1. in a race where only the 2 of them were competing, if you were betting, Midday would be favourite as they have met 3 times, and beaten SF twice.

Well that's the only thing that Midday has over Snow Fairy then. Snow Fairy has still achieved more over all.

UrbanSea wrote: »

I don't know why but I never warmed to her particularly.

Neither did I, but I don't like Ryan Moore very much and he was always on her back. Especially because Moore won the Derby that year on Workforce as well. Dunlop isn't exactly a loveable guy either. It's the fact that the horse was sold so cheap with an unstellar pedigree, the supplimenting to the Oaks, the demolition in Ireland, the performance in Japan when she accelerated for Moore from a seemingly impossible position, her tendon injury and comeback to win two G1s on the bounce this year. It seems she has overcome plenty of adversity and doubt in her career that she deserves recognition. I hope she wins everything this season.

Nulty

Just about to read this on the RP site

http://www.racingpost.com/horses/home.sd?story=1111591#newsArchiveTabs=last7DaysNews

UrbanSea

Maybe that was it alright. I know he does his job well, but can't stand Ryan Moore. Was always a big Johnny Murtagh fan