Published: Wednesday, 30th December, 2009 5:00pm

Christmas cracker

Go Native lines up bonus

Castletown trainer Noel Meade produced a cracker in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park on St Stephen's Day and is now dreaming of a £1,000,000 bonus with his talented Go Native.

Meade's charge landed the second-leg of the challenge when Davy Condon won the big hurdle race on the card at the UK track.

All the attention was focused on Kauto Star winning a fourth successive King George chase, but Meade's feat in landing the big hurdle showpiece for the fourth time this decade is also a marvellous achievement.

Meade won the race with Harchibald twice, in 2004 and 2008 and with Jazz Messenger in 2006 while Harchibald was also second in 2007.

Last Saturday's victory now puts Go Native into the frame for that bonus if he can win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham next March, a race Meade has never won before.

To qualify for the bonus Go Native won the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in November with jockey Davy Condon deputising for the suspended Paul Carberry. Condon teamed-up with Meade's rising star to complete the second leg at Kempton Park last Saturday at the expense of a fast-finishing Starluck and was quick to point out that he will not be on board for the third leg.

"I won't be on board for the Champion Hurdle, it will be Paul Carberry's ride," Condon told Channel 4 as he made his way back to the winners' enclosure after producing a Harchibald-like performance after jumping the last apparently full of running.

"I maintained that Go Native would take over from Harchibald, I didn't think he would do it like that, but he got there and that's the important thing," stated Meade after watching the action at the Foxrock track.

"I was pretty confident about his chances and he didn't get the credit he deserved after winning the race at Newcastle.

"Everything has gone well since then, we brought him to Dundalk to work on the all-weather last Tuesday and Darragh Bourke, who rides him all the time, reported that he was better than ever.

"It might be prudent to let him go to Cheltenham fresh, there's a £1,000,000 bonus if we can win the Champion Hurdle, maybe we might wrap him in cotton wool until then.

"We know we can have him ready without a run and if he gets good ground on the day it will suit, that's my initial thoughts, maybe I'll change my mind, maybe not," added the trainer.

Bourke, who didn't travel with Go Native to Kempton, was on duty at Limerick instead where he partnered his first winner in the concluding bumper with Original Option for his boss. Original Option was making its racecourse debut and was returned at 5/2 favourite. Bourke took the lead briefly at halfway, but was eased into the lead again in the home straight for a comfortable victory.