Blake to miss Christmas and wait for Dublin Racing Festival Trainer Noel Meade has indicated that his smart novice hurdler Blake is likely to miss Christmas and be prepared for a tilt at the Dublin Racing Festival instead. Having been awarded the October Handicap in the stewards room on his final outing on the Flat last season, the four-year-old went on to land his maiden hurdle at Down Royal on his next appearance. A fast-finishing head runner-up in the Grade 2 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse last month, the Zoffany gelding would have been a leading contender over the Christmas period. However, Meade has decided to give the horse more time to recover from his recent exertions. He said: "He ran a good race at Fairyhouse. "He's a big, tall, leggy horse, light, and he did run a real good race. Jumps great and I suppose if he had jumped the last, he might have won. He just wasn't slick enough at it. "We are going to miss Leopardstown (at Christmas). We are going to give him a chance because he had three quickish runs "To be honest, just looking through the calendar, there's not a lot of places he can go so he might have to go to Leopardstown (Dublin Racing Festival). I would like to go somewhere easy, but he might have to go to Leopardstown. "Then we will see how we go along after February." Additional reporting by Michael Graham.
