'I'm expecting a good run from him' Noel Meade on Saturday's big handicap at Fairyhouse It’s an Easter weekend of jubilant celebrations for Irish racegoers as Fairyhouse commemorates 150 years of the Irish Grand National - the richest race on the Irish National Hunt calendar. The excellent three-day festival is once again open to crowds following abandonment in 2020 and being forced behind closed doors in 2021. BoyleSports, the event’s sponsor, is offering a generous €50 in free bets for new customers in Ireland and there is a wealth of betting opportunities to add to the spectacle. A good place to start is in the opener on Saturday, the Grade A RYBO Handicap Hurdle worth €100,000. Trainer Willie Mullins has landed five of the last nine renewals of this race and saddles a staggering seven of the twenty runners. Farout and Heia, who have been running in better company are dropping in class and are likely to be well fancied in the market. Jesse Evans and Hes A Hardy Bloke are eye-catchers in the line up and trainer Noel Meade spoke to Irishracing.com about their chances in the feature race. Meade says: “I was very disappointed with Jesse Evans in the County Hurdle, he travelled a bit strong there and he didn’t really finish out his race at all so we were very disappointed. We were expecting a good run, he seems well since then and we are happy with him but this is a big field and you could fancy five or six of them.” Meade is keen to mention Hes A Hardy Bloke who was also last seen at Cheltenham in the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle. The seven-year-old has appeared in good company in the past and steps back in trip to two miles today over which he has won three times: Meade adds: “We had intended to go over fences with him this season but he got a setback early on and we didn’t get him out in time, so we decided to keep him over hurdles. With that handicap mark we decided to just target the good races as this race is worth a lot of money. “He lost the plot in Cheltenham altogether before the race and he got very upset, so I’m hoping that he has a hood on him on Saturday and that will settle him down a little bit and that he won’t get annoyed as he did in Cheltenham. I’m expecting a good run from him.” Earlier on the card, the opener of the Festival, a maiden hurdle over two and a half miles, is another fiercely competitive contest with a total of twenty five runners in the line up. Meade is represented by Harald Hardrad and thinks a first-time tongue tie could be the key to him: “He hasn’t been finishing out his races as well as we expected, he has a tongue-tie on him on Saturday, I think that will improve him quite a bit, it certainly seems to improve him at home. He seems to have some sort of a wind issue anyway. The tongue tie did seem to work at home and I am expecting a good run as long as we get easy ground.” Bugs Moran is likely to be one of the market principles in the Novice Handicap Hurdle at 4.15. He is yet to win but is consistent and in off a nice weight of ten stone eleven. Meade adds: “He’s run well without winning and it’s hard to know whether three miles is right or wrong or whether somewhere between two and a half to three miles probably suits him. It’s a very competitive race but it’s worth a good few pounds and we decided that we would let him take his chance.” Irish customers can get €50 in free bets when you open an account with BoyleSports. Min stake €10. Min odds Evs. Free Bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. Free Bets expire in 7 days. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP address only. Payment method restrictions. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. 30 days to qualify. 18+. T&Cs apply. Dunlewey.org
