The poet, golfer and postman who have the Ladbrokes Trophy favourite

A 69-strong syndicate that has a poet, golfer and postman among its members is preparing for an invasion of Newbury with £13,000 purchase Cabaret Queen, the 10-1 ante-post favourite for the Ladbrokes Trophy.

The Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old ran out an emphatic 13- length winner of the Munster National on her last start – securing €59,000 – and she became favourite for Newbury's £250,000 handicap after market leaders Benie Des Dieux and Santini were absent from the entries.

Ladbrokes Trophy entries

Jack Cantillon, who runs Syndicates.Racing, describes the group as "a cross-section of life" which contains a poet, professional golfer, postman and 15 participants from the 2018 Rose of Tralee festival, who were persuaded in by Cantillon's partner Gráinne Hawkes to join the syndicate.

Her Limerick success has fuelled their dream of a rags-to-riches glory and sparked plenty of excitement on the syndicate's WhatsApp chat.

"They're such an enthusiastic bunch and they can't wait for it, to have a favourite for a race like the Ladbrokes Trophy is a dream come true," said 28-year-old Cantillon, who works as a lawyer in London.

"We have 69 people in the WhatsApp group and they're all excited about the race. One guy sent a message saying, 'She's available at 150-1 for the Gold Cup, get on' – I think they might need to calm down a little bit, but it just shows you how terrific it is having her. It looks as if there's going to be an invasion at Newbury and she's allowed us to dream after what she did at Limerick."

Cabaret Queen has proved a shrewd investment since being bought at the Goffs UK Spring sale in May, already amassing €66,000 in her two starts since moving from Dan Skelton.

Cabaret Queen: won the Munster National by 13 lengthsCredit: Alain Barr

Cantillon added: "To go from a £13,000 purchase to Ladbrokes Trophy favourite is quite absurd really. She's a lovely, big, strapping horse and we wanted to go to Willie because of his record with mares. How much improvement she's shown is a testament to him and his team."

She will aim to become only the second mare to land the prestigious prize, 60 years on from the success of Kerstin for Verly Bewicke.

Of her chances of a fairytale win, Cantillon said: "We're favourite but we're 10-1 so really her price is reflective that we have an outside chance of victory. She has a similar profile to [2017 winner] Total Recall. We're treasuring the fact she's in there and we'll be celebrating win, lose or draw.

"It would be a dream come true if she could win, and it would be a boost for all syndicates and show how exciting it can be to have a horse."

Read The Lowdown from 8.30am daily on and the Racing Post app for all the day's going updates, news and tips