18+ | Commercial Content | T&Cs apply | Wagering and T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly | Advertising Disclosure
icon
Michael Graham

Michael Graham

Valdieu seals Meade's Down Royal double

Wed 26th Dec 2018, 16:49

Noel MeadeNoel Meade
© Photo Healy Racing

Former point-to-point winner Valdieu got off the mark in his seventh bumper with a decisive victory at Down Royal.

In today's assignment the 5/2 favourite got to the front a furlong and a half out and readily asserted in the final furlong under Mark O'Hare to score by 10 lengths. Braeside could make no impression in second at 6/1 with Shaws Bridge in third at 10/3.

Valdieu brought up a double for Noel Meade who said: "We always thought he was a very good horse, he just kept bumping into good ones.

"It is quite possible he will enjoy that easier ground - a lot of those Diamond Boys do. He (Mark O'Hare) said he was cantering the whole way.

"My plan is to send him jumping soon - hurdling straight away."

He had finished second to the likes of Malone Road, Desir Du Large and City Island

Meade won the opener on the card with Getaway Kid (11/2).

On winning the last race under the outgoing management at Down Royal, Meade said: "We are sorry to see it happen the way it did. Hopefully the new management will do as good a job as these have done because Jim (Nicholson) and his team and Mike (Todd) have done a fantastic job.

"I remember coming here when it was a backward track but there's nothing backward about it now - they have brought it into a new era. Hopefully it will keep going that way. They have never stopped improving all the time."

About Michael Graham
Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.