They are talking of a possible 19mm of rain in Kyoto on Friday morning but the ground is fast just now and the week-end forecast is 20 degrees and sunshine all the way, so Ed Dunlop is hopeful that SNOW FAIRY, who defends her crown in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth 11 Cup in Japan on Sunday, will get her favoured underfoot conditions.
Speaking from the land of the rising sun, Ed said; "It dries pretty quickly over here, so I'd be optimistic that we would get our ground on Sunday. It has been a worrying period after the filly suffered a bad reaction to some nasty bug bites that she received while doing her eight days quarantine in Shiroi but though she missed one day's cantering, she has been out at exercise the last two mornings and she seems to have come through the worst and is definitely getting better."
Ed was full of praise for the help he received from the Japanese Racing Association and the vets and he reports the weight of Snow Fairy, who won this race last year by an impressive four lengths, to be "perfect" and there is no doubt that being such a seasoned traveller - she has also been to Hong Kong, Dubai and Ireland - has helped our globe-trotting superstar overcome what proved a very unpleasant experience.