Andrew Slattery is confident Fleur In The Park could have a bright future having opened his hurdles account at the first attempt at Wexford.
Highly tried as a bumper horse, he put his experience and class to good use when sent off the 11/10 favourite for the BoyleSports Best Odds Guaranteed Maiden Hurdle, readily scoring by a length and a half.
He could now be set for an immediate step up in both grade and distance with Navan’s Grade Three Monksfield Novice Hurdle nominated as the next step on a path that may end at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Slattery said: “He wants two and a half to three miles and I thought he’d win over two if he is as good as I think he is.
“He is going for the Monksfield at Navan in three weeks’ time, so we had to get a run into him and that will bring out loads of improvement. Cian (Quirke, jockey) said he had a blow, that he won very easy and he had loads of horse left.
"He had good runs in bumpers last year but was never really trained for bumpers, as I wanted to give him a chance to be a good horse and I didn’t want to drill him to win bumpers, he still ran very well in them. I think there will be improvement over hurdles and over fences next year, that’s the plan.”
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He added: “I’m looking forward to the season with him, he’ll go to the Monksfield first and then we’ll take it from there. He might end up in the Albert Bartlett.”
Elsewhere on the card, there was a shock in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Hurdle where Willie Mullins’ 1-10 favourite Aurora Vega was pulled up by jockey Paul Townend in a race won by 8-1 chance Ms Agartha Yeats.
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