Go Native in action over hurdles© Photo Healy Racing
Noel Meade has not totally ruled out a crack at Newcastle's StanJames.com Fighting Fifth Hurdle with Go Native despite his fall at Punchestown yesterday..
The Co Meath trainer reports the nine-year-old to be none the worse for his final-flight spill in the Morgiana Hurdle, when he was putting in a strong challenge to Hurricane Fly, but is still likely to have him checked out.
It was Go Native's first run over hurdles since the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March 2010, although he did have two pipeopeners on the Flat last month.
"We'll probably run him at Christmas, but we won't rule anything out just yet," Meade told At The Races.
"We'll see how he is. There's a fortnight before the Fighting Fifth (December 1st). Obviously he had a heavy fall, but he slid along the ground, so he didn't take the brunt of it.
"If he was OK I wouldn't rule out Newcastle. I'm not saying he will go there, we'll just leave the door open for the moment.
"He seems fine. he got up straight away and was OK this morning, but we might just get the physio in to have a look and make sure and check him out.
"It was one of those things, that's racing. It's the good jumpers that have a cut at them who unfortunately go down. He was just a couple of inches too low, caught the top of it and came down.
"They were both going nicely at the time. He was going to be in the first two anyway!
"We had more or less given up on him. It's just fantastic to have him back and racing up at that level.
"He's run into Hurricane Fly a couple of times and never been able to match him, but he would have given him something to do yesterday. Whether he would have won, I don't know.
"To be upsides Hurricane Fly and giving him a race was very pleasing."
