Meade hopeful of big Fairyhouse run from Blake Having bypassed the Cheltenham Festival, trainer Noel Meade is hopeful that smart novice Blake can reward that decision with a big run in the Grade 2 Donohue Marquees Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Sunday. A three-time winner on the Flat and now rated 94 on the level, the five-year-old opened his account over hurdles at Down Royal in November. Narrowly beaten in the Royal Bond over this course and distance next time, the son of Zoffany acquitted himself well on two subsequent runs. Meade said: “He seems in great form. I’ve put cheekpieces on him. “I thought he was a bit uneven in the Royal Bond. He did wear them on the Flat, he is lazy. “He didn’t go to Cheltenham, so he maybe has had an easier time than some of them." Additional reporting by Gary Carson.
