DRIVING from The Irish Field towers in Bluebell, Dublin, to Fairyhouse for the launch of the National Hunt season in Meath on Wednesday, the rain beats down pretty badly. It’s absolutely miserable. At one stage the driving into Ballyfermot, the rain has created a mini lake on the road.

At Fairyhouse, the two Peters in the room couldn’t be more happy. Peter Killeen and Peter Roe, general managers at Navan and Fairyhouse, have finally got the rain all racecourses have desired.

“Would you believe that it’s November 7th, and it’s only now we’ve seen the last of good to firm ground,” Roe says.

Killeen adds: “It’s just been very tricky. We’ve been watering a lot. That said, the course has held up well and we’re great shape ahead of Sunday for Fortria Chase day.”

The worry for Roe is that this rain may have come too late for Fairyhouse’s excellent Winter Festival, with limited time for trainers to run horses even just once before the festival which takes place on the first weekend in December. This is something that a panel of Gordon Elliott, Noel Meade, Sean Flanagan, Barry Geraghty and Brien Kane all point out when they talk about the plethora of stars housed in the Royal County.

“It has been difficult not being able to work on grass,” Meade says. “Everybody is in the same boat. And you don’t want to be giving a horse a hard race on hard ground as well.”

Touch wood, nature plays its course now because there is lots to look forward to in Co Meath. Both Roe and Killeen point out to all the good horses that ran at Fairyhouse and Navan last year. They’re not wrong. Of Ireland’s 17 winners at Cheltenham last season, 10 were seen racing at either or both tracks.

Killeen adds: “People often say Kildare is the heart of racing in Ireland, but I think Meath is. Look at all the quality we have here, the amount of top-class trainers, the racecourses.”

As MC Thom Malone puts it, that’s a barstool argument for another day, but without doubt, quality National Hunt racing is a given in Meath.

A few more drops of rain will do nicely.

GORDON ELLIOTT

SAMCRO

6yo ch g (1111F-2)

Germany - Dun Dun

Gigginstown House Stud

He has come out of Saturday’s race fine and we’re happy with him. He got beaten fair and square on the day but we live to fight another day and it’s a long way to Cheltenham so we’re not panicking. He and Shattered Love had a lot done but he’ll definitely come on for that run. Like everyone else, we’ve been limited by the dry summer.

He most likely goes for the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown next Sunday, we’re keen to stay over two miles with him for now. He’s in the Hatton’s Grace and that’s an option as well. It’s day by day with horses so we’ll see how he shapes next week.

SHATTERED LOVE

7yo b m (11125-2)

Yeats - Tracker

Gigginstown House Stud

I was delighted with her at Down Royal. Snow Falcon beat her fair and square on the day but that race should bring her on. She had a blow at the back of the second last, picked up again at the last and galloped on to the line. She is going to be entered in all the good staying chases – more over three miles rather than two and a half. She’ll have to improve all season but she is one we’re hoping to aim at the Gold Cup all being well.

MALONE ROAD

4yo b g (1-1)

Kalanisi - Zaffarella

Cheveley Park Stud

He’d been showing us all the right signs at home and then went and won really well at Down Royal on Saturday. That looked a fair bumper, I had Noel’s horse Valdieu (finished second) as a pointer and he’s fair horse who brought in some very good bumper form. We were delighted with our lad and the plan is to stay in bumpers this year.

FELIX DESJY

5yo ch g (1/1165-1)

Maresca Sorrento - Lamadoun

Gigginstown House Stud

With the type of horses we get, we’re not as strong at two miles as we are at three, but at the moment Felix Desjy is probably our best two-mile novice hurdler. I think a good bit of him and he won his maiden hurdle at Galway in good style. He runs tomorrow at Navan in the For Auction Novice Hurdle and we’ll take it from there. The Royal Bond is on the cards.

COEUR SUBLIME

3yo b g (1)

Elusive Pimpernel - Love Knot

Chris Jones

We think he is a really nice horse and he is one who we were delighted to get after he won a maiden on the flat at Navan earlier this year. He won nicely at Down Royal and he should come on from that. We’re looking to follow the same route as Espoir D’Allen who won that same race at Down Royal and came to Fairyhouse for the Bar One Racing Juvenile Hurdle.

DELTA WORK

5yo br g (24312-1)

Network - Robbe

Gigginstown House Stud

At the moment he looks like he could go for the Drinmore. He has had a run, winning at Down Royal, and he should improve for that. He won’t mind soft ground and running over further in time.

BLOW BY BLOW

7yo ch g (61147-1)

Robin Des Champs - Shean Rose

Gigginstown House Stud

He is like Delta Work, in that he’ll probably prefer further in time but he’s had a run so the Drinmore is definitely on the cards. He did it nicely at Galway and we’ve been happy with him since.

APPLE’S JADE

6yo b m (11133-)

Saddler Maker - Apple’s For Ever

Gigginstown House Stud

We had a problem with her last year in that she kept coming in season – it happened at Cheltenham and Punchestown. For that reason I don’t think you saw her run to form and we’d be hopeful she can get back to her best this season. She has to improve two or three lengths to be winning the top-grade races but we think she can now that we’ve rectified a few problems. She starts off tomorrow and we’ll see how she goes but the plan is to go back to Fairyhouse and try to win a third Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.

DORTMUND PARK

5yo b g (1611481-)

Great Pretender - Qena

Gigginstown House Stud

He could be one we’ll also run in the Hatton’s Grace. He is not a bad horse at all and as he is only five, we’ve decided to keep him over hurdles. He starts off tomorrow at Navan and if he goes well, we’ll consider coming to Fairyhouse.

FARCLAS

4yo gr g (2215-)

Jukebox Jury - Floriana

Gigginstown House Stud

We had him in the Fishery Lane today at Naas but he’s had a wind operation and after he worked during the week, he is just not where I want him to be at present so we’ll give him another couple of weeks. He stays over hurdles and I’m keen to step him up in trip. You’ll likely see him in all those good long distance hurdles.

CARTER MCKAY

7yo gr g (06/1330-)

Martaline - Saxona

Qatar Racing Limited

He came to us from Willie’s and he is a nice one to get. He was only beaten a couple of lengths in a Grade 1 hurdle last season and he goes chasing this year. He worked well on Wednesday but he’s probably a fortnight away from a run. Something like the four-miler at Cheltenham is on my mind for him.

NOEL MEADE

SNOW FALCON

8yo b g (315UP-411)

Presenting - Flocon De Neige

Mrs Patricia Hunt

We kind of mucked up his season a bit last year when we gave him a couple of quick runs on the flat. He won a nice race in Killarney and then ran a good second in the Irish Cesarewitch at Navan. We then made a mistake of sending him over to Newmarket for the Cesarewitch over there. That kind of emptied him out before we even got started.

He could go for the Ladbrokes Trophy, he deserves to take his chance in a race like that, but I’m just thinking that I’d like to give him more space between his races this year so it’s still up in the air.

He’s in good form after Down Royal and he has started living out recently which I think suits him really well.

ROAD TO RESPECT

7yo ch g (12143-1)

Gamut - Lora Lady

Gigginstown House Stud

It’s hard to know whether he has improved from last year as I’m not completely sure the horses he beat last Saturday were running to form. Sean rides him out most of the time and when he doesn’t my second in command Damien McGillick does and both of them were adamant he was in fantastic form even though he was weighing 22 kilos heavier than at any stage of his life going into the race.

When he won his beginners chase he was 540kg and that was the heaviest he had been at any stage. So I was worried and I was tempted to give him another piece of work but the two lads kept saying that he was as fit as a fiddle and they were proved right. If the others ran anywhere near his best, of course he has improved but I’m sure Balko Des Flos didn’t anyway.

He’ll likely go to Leopardstown for the race he won last year now and then we can take it from there. He went straight to Cheltenham last year and in hindsight maybe that wasn’t the thing to do so we’ll see about going back to Leopardstown again before the Gold Cup.

MINELLA FAIR

7yo b g (1/1531-)

Flemensfirth - Bell Walks Run

Mrs Patricia Hunt

He is a very promising horse and I was always thinking he would make a very good chaser. He’ll be ready to start soon. He could end up in the Drinmore but it might be that he is more effective over further in time.

BRACE YOURSELF

5yo ch g (2132-1)

Mahler - Angelica Garnett

Mrs Patricia Hunt

We were delighted with him in Down Royal as he won what looked to be a nice maiden hurdle. Winning over two miles is a real bonus for him because he is probably going to be a horse that improves for a trip so there’s lots to look forward to.

VALDIEU

5yo b g (9/2-322)

Diamond Boy - Vamuna

Gigginstown House Stud

We fancied him going to Down Royal on Saturday but he got mowed down by Gordon’s horse Malone Road, who might be exceptional on that showing because we like this lad a lot. I’m not sure what we’ll do with him, it seems to be ridiculous that he hasn’t won a bumper but the fact is he hasn’t from four starts. Whatever we do, he is still a horse to look forward to when he goes jumping.

SUPER FOLLO

6yo b g (31/)

Enrique - Summer Belle

Mrs Patricia Hunt

He’s a horse we gave a lot of money for and he looked very promising when he first came into the yard. Unfortunately, through two setbacks he has missed the last two seasons. He has come back very nicely now but it’s still hard to know without working him on grass. It’s the same story with him regarding the Royal Bond, if I was able to get a run into him he could go but without that he probably wouldn’t.

DALY TIGER

5yo b g (F/123-)

Tiger Groom - Reine Tresor

Gigginstown House Stud

He won his bumper last year and we went for a maiden hurdle at Thurles, where he got beaten. That disappointed us a little so we decided to leave him off and come back this year. He is a very fast horse so two miles will be fine. He’ll be ready soon and with regard to the Royal Bond, it’ll just depend on whether we can get a run into him before that.

BRieN KANE (REPRESENTING GAVIN CROMWELL)

ESPOIR D’ALLEN

4yo b g (11114-)

Voix Du Nord - Quadanse

J.P. McManus

He’s had a nice break and he has definitely come back a stronger horse. In the last 10 days he is just after sparking in his work and we’re happy with him. We’re hopeful enough that he can put up a nice run today but in general, we’re very hopeful about the season as a whole.

LADY ISCHIA

6yo b m (2/1527-)

Getaway - Summer Flight

James O’Rourke & Mrs Mary O’Rourke

We’re fairly excited about her. She is shaping up nicely and I’d say she’ll go for a mares’ maiden hurdle somewhere and we’ll take it from there. She won her bumper in Naas in really good style last year and we’re looking forward to sending her over hurdles.

RAZ DE MAREE

13yo ch g (F2210-00)

Shaanmer - Diyala III

James J Swan

He’s probably been a little disappointing as of late but we haven’t given up on him. He’s a horse who needs a real test and the Welsh National is probably his big aim again but the Troytown is on the cards as well. Obviously we’d be hoping for a lot more rain to fall between now and then, but that could well happen, so there is a chance he could go to Navan.

BREX DRAGO

6yo b g (J: 087111, F: 8267-0)

Mujahid - Shibuni’s Thea

Marhan Limited

He has turned out to be a grand horse for us. For his three wins he has shown his versatility with regards to ground and I think he’ll be fine when we eventually get winter ground. He has his biggest test today but we’re hopeful he can go well.