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Ground conditions key for The Big Westerner’s next assignment

By Racing TV

Last Updated: Thu 26 Mar 2026

Ground conditions will dictate where The Big Westerner runs next having been forced to miss the Cheltenham Festival.

The Henry de Bromhead-trained mare was due to run in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase but having seen the ground dry up over the first day and night, she was taken out.

She holds an entry in the WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse, while the William Hill Mildmay Novices’ Chase is another option and she will run wherever the ground looks like being softest.

“If the ground is soft The Big Westerner would have a chance at Fairyhouse. Hopefully this weather keeps up for her, she deserves to win a Grade One,” said Robbie Power, race planner for De Bromhead.

“She’s also in the three-mile Grade One at Aintree, but I know connections would love to run at Fairyhouse if the ground was soft.

“She’s an ideal type for any race as long as it is soft, she jumps for fun but she just loves soft ground, the softer the better, she’s won twice at Limerick.

“She’ll run at wherever looks like being the softest. It was hard to take her out of Cheltenham, but you do what is best for the horse. I walked the track with Henry and we agreed we couldn’t run her.”

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