Sunday NAP of the Day: Fun to be had at Fairyhouse

A busy Easter Sunday of racing action will see six meetings going to post across Britain and Ireland. Five of those come over jumps – at Cork, Fairyhouse, Market Rasen, Ffos Las and Plumpton – while all-weather fare comes from Southwell. 

There's a double helping of Grade 1 action at Fairyhouse on day two of their Irish Grand National Festival, while the Sussex Champion Hurdle gets top billing at Plumpton. Sunday's NAP is one of a battalion of Willie Mullins-trained contenders going for the opening Grade 1 of the afternoon at Fairyhouse and she may well be the pick of the bunch, despite the market saying otherwise. 

A cracking contest in prospect when they line up in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Honeysuckle Mares' Novice Hurdle, a Grade 1 contest that has attracted a stellar field of 18 to scrap it out for the €60,000 top prize. 

A whopping 10 of them are trained by Willie Mullins, including the favourite Jade De Grugy, but preference is for stablemate FUN FUN FUN in the hands of Patrick Mullins. 

Jade De Grugy was expected to be a major player in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham last time out but she got a bit short of room on the run to the second last and, ultimately, could only finish fourth as Golden Ace stunned the favourite, Brighterdaysahead. 

In third that afternoon was Birdie Of Bust for Henry de Bromhead, the only rival to get the better of Fun Fun Fun in her four hurdles starts thus far. 

That came at Thurles in December in a Listed contest and Fun Fun Fun has responded with back-to-back wins at Exeter and Naas, latterly in Grade 3 company, this spring. 

She beat subsequent Supreme Novices' Hurdle sixth Favour And Fortune into second at Exeter and, having been a smart performer in bumpers last season, there's some proper depth to her form. 

She could have more to offer upped in trip and that Birdie Or Bust form line from Cheltenham suggests she should be more than capable of mixing it with Jade De Grugy now. 

Fun Fun Fun also likes to front-rank in her races, and that could prove no bad thing on the testing ground they are set to race on at Fairyhouse, as it could take some effort to make up ground. 

This is a Betfred Extra Place Race (four places) and at current odds, Fun Fun Fun is twice the price of Jade De Grugy, she looks the value option in the Honeysuckle Mares' Novice Hurdle with that distinct possibility of further improvement to come upped in trip.