Ferny Hollow, after being away from the racing scene for over two years, made an impressive comeback in the Newlands Chase at Naas. However, it seems unlikely that the nine-year-old, trained by Willie Mullins, will participate in the upcoming Cheltenham Festival. Ferny Hollow's last notable victory was in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham almost four years ago, wearing the Cheveley Park Stud colors. Unfortunately, injuries have limited his appearances since then to just three races.
After a successful start to his hurdling career at Gowran Park in the following season, he faced a long absence from racing for over a year. However, upon his return, he seamlessly transitioned to jumping fences and achieved consecutive victories, including a Grade One win at Leopardstown in December 2021. Since then, he had not been seen on the track.
Despite being absent from racing for 791 days, Ferny Hollow was heavily favored at odds of 2-5 for this Grade Three race. In truth, those who placed bets on him at odds-on would have had little to worry about throughout the two-mile contest.