Meade concerned over Muirhead appetite

Noel Meade is hoping Muirhead regains his appetite before the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices´ Hurdle at Cheltenham tomorrow.

The Navan trainer is not totally satisfied with the way the five-year-old has dealt with his first overnight stay away from home.

"He hasn´t been eating as much as we would have liked him to over the last couple of days since he travelled over, but hopefully that will be OK," said Meade.

"I would like to see him eat a bit more than he has been doing, but he is drinking. It´s the first time he´s been away."

Muirhead is unbeaten in three starts, with his latest victory coming in a Grade One at Fairyhouse in early December when he accounted for Supreme rival Cork All Star by a length and three-quarters.

"He can´t do anything more than he´s done so far in his races," Meade added.

Ireland´s strong hand in the Festival curtain-raiser also includes Captain Cee Bee from Eddie Harty´s stable.

The seven-year-old has not raced since mid-November but he created a good impression when winning at Punchestown on that occasion and has been prominent in the ante-post lists for some time.

"He´s at Cheltenham and he´s very well, everything has gone according to plan," said Harty.

"I wish it wasn´t raining there but we can´t do anything about that at this stage, so let´s bring on tomorrow and see what it brings.

"Robert Thornton is going to ride him and he was the leading jockey at Cheltenham last year so we´re not going to get much better than him.

"It´s open and you need some luck in a race like this.

"We´d have respect for all of them but we´d fear none of them, that´s probably how I´d describe it. They´re all there trying to win it, just the same as we are."