Noel Meade© Photo Healy Racing
Road To Respect in the Festival Plate Handicap Chase in 2017 was the most recent of Noel Meade’s five Cheltenham Festival winners and the Meath handler will have a select team to represent him at this year’s renewal.
Exciting novice hurdler Thedevilscoachman was fairly prominent in the market for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle but is now unlikely to travel with Fairyhouse at Easter mooted as being a possible next target.
“I won’t be having too many runners at Cheltenham,” said Meade on Sunday.
“Jeff Kidder (currently weighted on 10 stone and needing six to come out) will go for the four-year-old handicap hurdle (Boodles Fred Winter on the opening day) if he gets in.”
The Gigginstown House Stud-owned pair of Beacon Edge, winner of four of his eight starts over flights including the Grade 2 Boyne Hurdle at Navan last time, and Galmoy Hurdle runner-up Diol Ker could do battle for Meade in Thursday week’s Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle.
“Beacon Edge and Diol Ker could run in the Stayers’ but I’ll have to talk with Eddie and Michael (O’Leary) before a final decision is made.
“I think Diol Ker (who beat Monkfish when winning his maiden hurdle in 2019 and, after three runs over fences in the autumn, returned to hurdling with a win at Limerick’s Christmas meeting) might be better suited by a flat track like Aintree.”
