Fairyland (horse)

2018: two-year-old season

Fairyland was ridden by Ryan Moore when she made her racecourse debut in a six furlong maiden race at Naas Racecourse on 7 May and started at odds of 3/1 in a ten-runner field. She raced close to the leaders from the start, took the advantage a furlong from the finish and won "comfortably" by one and three quarter lengths.^[6] Nineteen days later the filly was stepped up in class and matched against male opposition in the Listed Marble Hill Stakes over the same distance at the Curragh in which she was partnered by Seamie Heffernan. After tracking the front-runners she took the lead in the last quarter mile and drew away to win by two and a half lengths and a neck from her stablemates Van Beethoven and Land Force.^[7] The second and third placed horses went on to win the Railway Stakes and the Richmond Stakes respectively. Heffernan was again in the saddle when the filly was sent to England to contest the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and started the 5/2 second favourite against seventeen opponents. Racing on the far side of the straight course (the right-hand side from the jockeys' view) she finished a close third behind Main Edition and La Pelosa, both of whom raced on the opposite side of the track. In the aftermath of the race she was reported to be "under the weather" as many of the Ballydoyle horses were affected by a viral infection.^[8]

After a break of two months, Fairyland returned for the Lowther Stakes at York Racecourse and started 6/4 favourite ahead of the Princess Margaret Stakes winner Angel's Hideaway. Ridden by Moore she led for most of the way and after being headed by The Mackem Bullet inside the furlong she rallied in the final strides to regain the advantage and win by a nose.^[9] After the race O'Brien said "I'm delighted with her. She did get headed so it was great to see her battle back... She's a lovely filly and [the Cheveley Park Stakes] is the way we'll be heading... she's a big, rangy filly - she looks more like a three-year-old than a two-year-old".^[8]

On 29 September Fairyland, ridden by Donnacha O'Brien, started at odds of 6/1 for the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse. Her ten opponents included Pretty Pollyanna (winner of the Prix Morny), So Perfect (Grangecon Stud Stakes), Lady Kaya (second in the Moyglare Stud Stakes), Signora Cabello (Queen Mary Stakes, Prix Robert Papin), Queen of Bermuda (Firth of Clyde Stakes), Angel's Hideaway and The Mackem Bullet. After tracking the leaders she took the lead just inside the final furlong and kept on strongly to win by a neck from The Mackem Bullet with So Perfect half a length away in third place.^[10] Aidan O'Brien commented "We thought she would come forward from York and she did. She's a lovely, big filly and has loads of speed. Donnacha gave her a peach of a ride. We always thought she would maybe get a mile but she's not short of speed and has a lovely mind. We probably wouldn't run her again this season".^[11]