A winner of a four-year-old mares' maiden at Dromahane in November for Aidan Fitzgerald, the daughter of Shirocco is set to line up in the Grade 1 Weatherby's Champion Bumper at Cheltenham on Wednesday evening.
The exciting mare (pictured above) finished third to Cill Anna on her debut run at the end of last season, who recently won a listed novice hurdle at Doncaster.
"We always loved her at home, you'd only ever have to show her something once and she'd know what to do."
"We were disappointed the first day, the ground was way too quick for her. I thought she'd win going down there, she just missed a couple of fences early and they were gone away from her.
"We knew going to Dromahane that we had a good mare."
Bought for €25,000 at the 2018 Tattersalls Derby Sale, Fitzgerald (pictured below) explains how he acquired the Shirocco filly.
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"We were at the sales, and Derek Pugh was consigning her. We like buying off of yards where we know horses are well fed and well looked after. Derek sold some very good horses down through the years.
"I would've known Derek Pugh for years, he always has his horses turned out well and we were delighted to buy off him."
The fact that she only won her point-to-point in November, this essentially means that she's running at the Cheltenham festival on the same season that she won her point-to-point, something that has been done by Brindisi Breeze and Fundamentalist in previous years.
Following her Dromahane success, she changed hands at Tattersalls Cheltenham back in November for £160,000 to Aidan O'Ryan and Gordon Elliott, who Fitzgerald recommended the high-class mare to.
She has since duly delivered, winning a bumper by a wide-margin at Gowran Park on Red Mills day under Jamie Codd, who is bidding for back-to-back victories in the concluding contest on day two of the festival.
"Gordon asked me at the sales should he try and buy her, and I recommended her straight away.
"I think Jonjo O'Neill was the under bidder."
Out of Awesome Miracle, a Supreme Leader mare, the daughter of Shirocco is a half-sister to Shotgun Paddy who won four races, as well as being placed in a Welsh Grand National at Chepstow.
"She was out of a Supreme Leader mare, and she looked like a Supreme Leader mare.
"She was a half-sister to a couple of winners. She had a great walk and a lovely head, a real Supreme Leader head."
