'I genuinely can't put it into words, it's surreal' - Ashroe Diamond sparkles for jubilant racing club

This was the scene for the first of Honeysuckle's 13 Grade 1 victories and, while Ashroe Diamond has a lot of races to win before she can be mentioned in the same sort of breath, you sense Sunday's five-length victory won't be her last triumph at the top level.

It was the sort of performance that makes you wonder what might have happened had she not had a late setback and missed the Jack de Bromhead Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham. An educated guess says she would have won it. 

That's all hypothetical, though, and a Grade 1 at Fairyhouse isn't bad compensation at all for the Blue Blood Racing Club, who travelled in their droves and didn't half enjoy themselves. 

"I genuinely can't put it into words," said James Fenton, manager of the club, before putting it beautifully into words. 

"I suppose it's fantastic for the members after the disappointment of missing Cheltenham, but to come back here and put in a performance like she did was just surreal, especially in a Grade 1. 

"We're a club that has been going for about eight years and this was only our second runner in a Grade 1. Lucky enough we came across this mare, and many thanks to Ashroe Stud for buying this mare and then leasing her back to us. It's fairytale stuff."

With Willie Mullins recovering from a hip operation, assistant trainer David Casey was on track for the debrief and was just as impressed as the rest of us with what he saw. 

Casey said: "She was very good and Paul [Townend] said she did everything right.

"She got a bit keen and they went stop-start a bit but she travelled like a dream and jumped brilliantly. She did it very easy."

He added: "Who knows what would have happened at Cheltenham, but it's great to win today, it's very important for the mare. She did everything right and hopefully she'll go forward next season."

We are unlikely to see Ashroe Diamond again this term, as she got a nasty cut in the race which may require stitches. Betfair Sportsbook trimmed her into 5-1 for the Mares' Hurdle at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, a market topped by her Triumph Hurdle-winning stablemate Lossiemouth.

For a fleeting moment it looked like 66-1 outsider Whatcouldhavebeen had slipped the field under Aidan Kelly but she couldn't repel Ashroe Diamond. There was no shame in that whatsoever and there were 17 lengths back to Pink In The Park in third. 

This was the day Ashroe Diamond sparkled and what a stunning sight it was.

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