Lodge leading the charge for Nolan Trainer Paul Nolan believes there is further improvement in Golan Lodge following his determined triumph at Leopardstown on Sunday. A bumper winner for Liz Doyle in February of last year, the seven-year-old was a little disappointing on his first three outings over hurdles, but has fared better since switching to handicap company. After filling the runner-up spot at Fairyhouse last month, Golan Lodge went one better when seeing off Childrens List over the weekend and Nolan is hoping for a profitable end to the campaign. He said: "He galloped all the way to the line and looks to be a horse going the right way. "We were very happy with his jumping and I love the way he's improving the whole time. He's only just copping on to the job now. "He's gone up 7lb, so he's rated 123 now. I'm hoping there's still a bit of improvement there and he might still have a few pounds in hand, but we'll see. "He handles that soft ground well, which is always good as it's easier to keep them sound that way. "There's a novice final at Fairyhouse we might look at and you'd like to think he might run in some of those better handicaps at Fairyhouse and Punchestown in the spring." Golan Lodge was a second winner in the space of four days for Nolan, who has endured an otherwise quiet campaign. The Enniscorthy handler, who has enjoyed big-race success with the likes of Joncol, Shinrock Paddy, Noble Prince and Defy Logic, admits he is low on quality this season. "The fact is we just don't have the fire-power at the moment," said Nolan. "We've been trying to turn summer horses into winter horses, which is a hard thing to do, and a lot of them just aren't good enough. "Hopefully we've got some nice, younger horses coming through. We're not going to have a lot of runners. "We set out with a two-year plan, so hopefully we'll weather the storm and come out the other side and be competitive again."
