Cheltenham Festival winners Jango Baie and Lecky Watson are among an entry of 22 horses for the two and a half-mile WillowWarm Gold Cup, the first of two Grade 1 contests at Fairyhouse on Easter Sunday, April 20th.

Nicky Henderson’s Jango Baie would be going up in distance after his last-gasp success in Cheltenham’s two-mile Arkle Chase while the Willie Mullins-trained Lecky Watson would be coming back in trip after his taking victory in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, over an extended three miles, if they were to run.

Not short of options, Mullins has also entered his Grade 1 Dublin Racing Festival winner Ballyburn, fifth behind Lecky Watson at Cheltenham last time, the Limerick Grade 1 winner Impaire Et Passe, two-time chase winner Ile Atlantique, and last weekend’s Limerick scorer Fun Fun Fun.

The Mullins-trained Spindleberry saw off the Gavin Cromwell-trained Bioluminescence to take the Listed Irish EBF Colreevy Mares Novice Chase at Fairyhouse in late February and they also feature.

The Grade 1 Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase winner Croke Park, Firefox, Down Memory Lane and Shecouldbeanything have been entered by Gordon Elliott while Common Practice and Jordans are there for Joseph O'Brien with Slade Steel a possible contender for Henry de Bromhead.

A fascinating rematch between de Bromhead’s Air Of Entitlement and the Gavin Cromwell-trained Sixandahalf is on the cards in the Grade 1 Irish EBF Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle on the same Easter Sunday programme.

The pair finished first and second respectively in the Grade 2 Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival where there was only half a length between them.

A strong hand

Henry de Bromhead certainly holds the strongest of hands in the race named in honour of his superstar mare Honeysuckle as he has also entered his Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle runner-up The Big Westerner.

Willie Mullins’ team of 10 entries includes Karoline Banbou which finished fourth in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, and Maughreen, which lost all chance at the start in the same Cheltenham race.

The champion trainer has also given entries to three-time hurdles winner Hey Sunshine, the wide-margin Limerick winner Sainte Tartare and Aurora Vega which notched up her second Fairyhouse success when taking the Grade 3 SBK Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle in January.

The race has also attracted five British-trained horses with Jamie Snowden and Fergal O’Brien entering Hollygrove Cha Cha and That’ll Do Moss respectively, the pair separated by only a shorthead when first and second in a Grade 2 at Sandown in the middle of February. Nicky Henderson is responsible for the Listed hurdle winner Holloway Queen, That’s Nice and Khrisma.

Click here for the entries for both Grade 1 races at Fairyhouse on Easter Sunday, April 20th.