THE Winter Festival at Fairyhouse has been a fine predictor of spring success recently; at last year’s meeting, there were three Cheltenham Festival winners, along with numerous others who made the frame, while it also produced the Grand National and Aintree Hurdle winners.

Those future winners may be there again, but they could be harder to find, as this year’s meeting was run on fast ground, while there was an absence of pace in a number of the feature races.

The Hatton’s Grace was one example of this. The classiest of the four hurdle races on Sunday’s card, it was also the most slowly-run; the four runners got from what was the first in two-mile races to three out slower than any of the shorter races and, from there, were faster than the other races.

That steady pace on nice ground would have suited Lossiemouth much more than Teahupoo, but there were other positives to take from her performance.

Visually, she was excellent despite a few things going wrong, notably a mistake four out and being caught in a pocket thereafter.

Then, there was the confidence behind her, both in the market and in Paul Townend’s extreme patience in delivering her challenge at the last, only needing to be nudged out on the run-in.

Already Champion Hurdle favourite beforehand, she had to shorten further given State Man has been beaten recently and the uncertainty around Constitution Hill, but Teahupoo should not be judged harshly for being beaten under unsuitable conditions.

Murky Drinmore

Things got murkier in the Drinmore. This was run at a particularly weak gallop, the field 10 seconds slower from the first to the line when compared to the mares in the opening handicap chase, while also being four seconds behind the marathon chasers in the Porterstown.

That meant a sprint from three out, where track position and late jumping meant all, with shock winner Croke Park better positioned than his rivals.

One was left with a sense that the result would have been different on a different day, with the strong finish of Gorgeous Tom one of a number of potential false signals from the race.

An obvious question to ask is why some of the riders behind Sam Ewing on Croke Park didn’t press on to make it a stiffer test. Keith Donoghue on Firefox perhaps felt he didn’t have that option, as a speed test should have suited his mount, Gordon Elliott making noises that Firefox could be better over two miles and his slick jumping on Sunday backing this up. He should be better forcing the pace down in trip.

The lack of urgency from Darragh O’Keeffe on Heart Wood made less sense, given he had won over nearly three miles at Wexford previously, though he was unproven on the ground and didn’t want to give him a hard race with a stronger gallop.

His jumping looks very safe, but might not be quick enough for this distance.

The Royal Bond was at least more truly run than the two Grade 1s, the pick of the times of the hurdle races on Sunday and the first three were able to pull clear of the rest, having been close together between the final two hurdles.

The questions about this race are more to do with the quality of the form.

The race was weakened by the withdrawal of a Gordon Elliott-trained runner in Bleu De Vassy, not the first time this has happened in recent weeks, which left a good opportunity for his stablemate Romeo Coolio.

He seemed to have few excuses after travelling well to lead two out, bar perhaps being keener than ideal and preferring slower ground, and Tounsivator should have won by more than his two-and-a-half length margin, needing to wait for a run between the final two that could have cost him upwards of two lengths.

Tounsivator had been beaten off 138 in a recent handicap hurdle, and had already lost four times over hurdles, which puts a firm cap on the form.

Ballygunner Castle and Paul Townend (yellow and purple) winning a 'strange two-mile maiden hurdle' \ Healy Racing

PERHAPS the novice races from the weekend could prove a little easier to sort. Impaire Et Passe was sent off the shortest price of any runner over the two days and won like it too, jumping well and seeming to show no effects of an extra season over hurdles.

The normally understated Townend was positive about him afterwards, describing him as ‘mustard’, though this race tested speed more than stamina, Impaire Et Passe faster from three out than any runner over fences across the weekend, even those in the Drinmore. He might prove suited by staying at this trip or shorter, rather than going up in distance.

One of the more impressive winners was Anzadam in the Grade 3 for four-year-old hurdlers and, again, his late sectionals were standout, this race was not slowly run yet he was able to come home markedly quicker than anything else on the hurdle track during the card.

Mistakes

His hurdling was mixed, at times fast but making two mistakes, while Willie Mullins retained the hood that he wore in France, Townend implying afterwards that he could be quite a hot sort.

Beating some of what seems a strong crop of Irish four-year-old hurdlers is no mean feat after 411 days off and the runner-up Kala Conti was fit and in-form, though may want further to show her best.

It is hard to know where Anzadam will fit in, however, with his owner having options in the division.

Ballygunner Castle was a less obvious novice to note. He landed what looked a strange two-mile maiden hurdle, as many of the big players seem more staying types, himself included, and, despite some novicey jumping, won with plenty in hand, his superiority masked by being repeatedly hampered by a loose horse in the closing stages.

He didn’t appear to be a leading light among the Mullins bumper horses last season, when he didn’t run in a graded race, but with some of those contests not working out, he might be able to bridge the gap, and this was a pretty positive start to his season.

FAIRYHOUSE was a weekend for the big trainers, Mullins with five winners, Elliott with three and de Bromhead with two, other major names notching success too, but Pat Fahy landed a notable victory with History Of Fashion in the Porterstown.

That horse had won just one of his 31 starts prior to this season, but has now landed his last two, the emphasis on stamina suiting, as seems to be the way with his trainer, for whom marathon chases are something of a niche specialism.

Fahy has won three handicap chases over three miles two furlongs or further since 2010 from 30 runners, with 16 of his runners making the first six home in what are often big fields, his runners profitable to back place only at Betfair SP to the tune of 12.38 points.

Keep in mind

History Of Fashion is high enough in the weights now, but his other runner in the Porterstown, the fifth Brucejack, is worth keeping in mind for similar races, as one or two things went wrong on Sunday.

He jumped well given a wide trip in the early part of the race, before Charlie O’Dwyer looked to move him closer to the inside rail early in the straight first time around, but he made a mistake which knocked his rhythm and he was again stuck wide.

He soon got back into a good flow out on the outer wing of the field and looked to go for his race sooner than ideal after three out, the track setup with two fences in the straight against him too, as the long run between the final two tests stamina.

While still leading at that point, he had done a lot of running to get there and faded late, but he stays this sort of trip well and is low mileage being just seven.