Monksland to return in the Lismullen Monksland is set to make his seasonal reappearance in the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan on Sunday. Despite an absence of exactly two years, the eight-year-old ran good races in defeat last season, placing in the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown before being touched off by Dedigout in in the Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran in January. Monksland was unable to land a blow in the World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March, but trainer Noel Meade is pleased with his current condition. He said: "The plan is to start him off in the Lismullen Hurdle. "I'm very happy with him at the moment. I'm always afraid to say anything about this horse as every time he ran last year something happened. "We've been swimming him a lot and that seems to be working well. "To be honest, to do as well as he did last season, with all the problems he had, he must be some horse. "It's possible that he could still go over fences."
