Noel Meade Stable Tour
6 Mar 2008
A MONTH ago you wouldn't have put serious money on Noel Meade having a runner at Cheltenham let alone a team of horses including fancied contenders such as Harchibald and Muirhead.
The perennial Irish champion trainer was seemingly on course for another record-breaking season as Christmas approached but then the train hit the buffers with an almighty bang and the winners dried up completely.
Happily the green shoots of recovery started to poke through in the second half of February and recent results appear to confirm that Meade is back on track in time for the Festival.
"There was nothing we could really put our finger on and say that was to blame," he recalls. "For whatever reason the horses simply couldn't perform and it began to get to me when it went on for so long, particularly as we weren't sure what we were dealing with.
"All that seems behind us now though. They're working and running much better, which is reflected in the results. I'm never confident going into Cheltenham because it's the hardest place in the world to get winners, but I hope and think we'll be competitive."
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TUESDAY
2.00 Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle
"MUIRHEAD is unbeaten and has worked well enough recently to take his chance. I would have liked to have given him another run after the Royal Bond for experience but that wasn't possible after my horses went wrong. It's not been easy with him because he's a light horse and a poor eater, but so far it hasn't affected his performances on the racecourse. JERED has been left in at the six-day stage but JP (McManus) has others in the race and it may well be that he'll wait for Fairyhouse, though he's also got an entry in the County Hurdle."
3.15 Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy
"HARCHIBALD is in great shape after his all-weather win at Dundalk and appears in the same sort of form as he was when chasing home Hardy Eustace three years ago. He's a serious contender provided they don't put too much water on or there's a lot of rain. Everyone's got an opinion about this fella but the most important thing with him is the ground. The quicker it is the better he is - he's just not the same horse on slower ground. JAZZ MESSENGER would also be suited by good ground and looks a big price for a dual Grade 1 winner. He ran well when second in the mud at Gowran last time and has come on for that."
5.20 Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle
"RIGHT OR WRONG would have a squeak if he gets in purely because he beat Beau Michael, the best Irish four-year-old novice, at Fairyhouse in December. Like a lot of mine he's disappointed since but if he comes back to his best he would have to be respected off a low weight. He jumps well and is rated in the mid-80s on the Flat, so has a fair bit of of ability."
WEDNESDAY
4.00 Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle
"This race, rather than the County, is the target for ORBIT O'GOLD, who had good form in staying handicaps on the Flat last autumn, notably when second in the Irish Cesarewitch. That proves he goes well in a big-field, competitive race and he was a classy novice over hurdles last season, beating De Valira in a Grade 2 at Punchestown. The trip was a bit sharp for him on decent ground in the Supreme Novices last year and I wouldn't read too much into his disappointing effort in the Greatwood because it was a foul day and lots of horses ran below form. Hasn't run since but is fresh and well."
5.20 Weatherbys Champion Bumper
"CORSKEAGH ROYALE has won his last two starts in progressive style and I was really taken with the way he beat a Grade 2 field at Navan. Nina (Carberry) will ride him and he won't lack for vocal support as he's owned by a club with 132 members who have chartered a plane to come over. He has a big chance, especially if the ground is on the soft side. Paul (Carberry) will ride COTTAGE OAK, who is unbeaten in two starts and very useful in his own right. He quickens up really well on good ground, so hopefully we've got all angles covered!"
THURSDAY
3.15 Ladbrokes World Hurdle
"AITMATOV will run provided the ground is not too soft, though we have left him in the Champion Hurdle as a precaution against the weather. He was in very good form in the first half of the season before disappointing in the AIG, but obviously wasn't right that day. As a result he probably just needed the run at Navan last month, which was a good effort considering the ground was also against him. He's got 2m speed, stays 2m5f well but will need decent ground if he's to get further at championship level."
FRIDAY
2.00 JCB Triumph Hurdle
"SILVERHAND performed a minor miracle to win an incident-packed race on his debut and would have needed his run behind Beau Michael at Fairyhouse last month as a setback had kept him off since the autumn. Unraced on the Flat, he's got more potential than most juvenile hurdlers and is a definite contender here because he's strong and jumps quickly. Sure to improve as he gets more experience."
2.35 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle
"GEM DALY looked like being one of my better novices before the horses started going wrong, so you can forget his poor run at Leopardstown last time. Winner of his first two starts, he showed his class by finishing a clear second to Trafford Lad in a Grade 1 at Navan in December. We weren't going to send him to Cheltenham, but changed our minds after his last piece of work. PARSONS PISTOL has won three from four and beat Uncle Junior, a good horse of Willie Mullins's, on the step up to Graded company at Cork last time. Stays well and deserves to take his chance, though he's more of a chasing prospect having won a point-to-point as a four-year-old."
3.15 Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup
"AFISTFULLOFDOLLARS has been working well since beating Hedgehunter and Snowy Morning in the Bobbyjo Chase, so will almost certainly be supplemented. He's won three of his four starts over fences and is already up to a mark of 157, so why not let him take his chance? We still don't know how good he is and you could argue that he beat Snowy Morning as easily as Denman did in last year's Sun Alliance. With a profile like his, we would rather have a crack at the big one than carry top weight in a handicap."
5.45 Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle
JERED - see Tuesday.
- attheraces.com
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