Minefield had to be negotiated to land Prize

Dilshaan"s Prize was probably a surprise winner at The Curragh on Sunday, but that may have been due in part to the fact that Harchibald also ran in the same race. We purchased Dilshaan"s Prize at a horses-in-training sale in France with a view to going hurdling last year for the High Street Ceathar Syndicate who have enjoyed a good amount of success with various horses. They owned Sausalito Bay which was my first winner at Cheltenham, they also owned Rosaker, but they have had to be patient with Dilshaan"s Prize after we discovered that he had a problem with his back. It turned out that he had what is called a 'kissing spine" and we sent him to the Lisadell Veterinary Clinic outside Navan. There was a lot of intensive work and rehabilitation carried out and he was sent for some pre-training before he came back to us. He was an expensive horse, he had won over a mile and seven furlongs in Listed company in France, but he hadn"t run since October 2007. I suppose the problems we experienced with this horse demonstrate just how hazardous buying a racehorse can be. Most of the horses that go to the sales are sent for a reason and it"s a potential minefield. This particular horse was recommended to us, he was originally owned by an Arab, but not one of the bigger Arab owners. Over the years, the Arab-owned horses always represented good value, but since Dubai started, the horses that are coming up for sale are not the same quality anymore. We were disappointed with the way it worked out, but hopefully he will now go on and win a few races and eventually make a success over the hurdles. I thought he might have needed the race on Sunday, but he stayed on well for Mick Kinane and we will run him on the flat again, he won"t go hurdling now until next season. Harchibald got a bit tired, but he hasn"t done that much since he came back from Cheltenham and he might have needed the race anyway. That should leave him fairly right for Punchestown. Tim Carroll had his first ride on the flat at Dundalk on Friday night on Jaamid, I thought he was going to win, but he got nailed in the last 50 yards. Jaamid should win a two-mile race so we will just have to find a suitable one for him. At Gowran last week Failte Go Deo was unlucky and will win a race or two, again it will be a matter of finding the right one. I was disappointed with the way Jered ran at Aintree, maybe he didn"t stay, Tony McCoy said he was going well enough into the straight, but he made a mistake and emptied very quickly. Perhaps two miles would be far enough for him, but the plan is still to go to Punchestown and he will jump fences next year. As for the National, the Meath jockeys didn"t fare too well, Barry Geraghty only got as far as the first, it"s amazing the way things change in racing. The 100/1 winner is something that will encourage people to keep looking for their dream horse, I suppose. It wasn"t a particularly good race compared to other years, maybe 100/1 was too big of a price, I think it was too generous. One of the lads here, Shane Burke, selected Mon Mome as a likely winner and then was too late arriving at the bookies to get his bet on, but at least he had it in a competition which is organised here every year for Cheltenham and Liverpool. That provided him with some consolation, about €250, but I"m sure everyone will be reminding him about missing the start of the race, even after it was delayed, for a while. Looking ahead to this week, I"m optimistic that Paul Carberry will be back in action, that would be a great boost for us. The ground will determine what horse goes where and before Fairyhouse, Right Or Wrong might go to Tipperary on Thursday, it depends on what else is in the race. All the attention will be on Fairyhouse this weekend with the Irish Grand National the main attraction. With three horses in the National, I"m not sure what sort of going would be best. Parsons Pistol wants it soft, Casey Jones would prefer good ground and I"m not too sure what would suit Toofarback. Whatever going we get will determine how they all run. The horses are all in great form and we can do no more than that, Ferdy Murphy is sending over a runner and he is always a man to watch in any of these long distance chases. If the rain keeps falling it will definitely suit Aran Concerto for the Powers Gold Cup on Sunday, he is in great form at home and is working well, so we are all looking forward to the race. Nicanor might also run in the Powers Gold Cup, it"s worth winning and if he doesn"t win it, then the experience will be beneficial as well as he will still retain his novice status over fences for next year. I could run him in a hurdle race on Monday as an alternative if I think he has a good chance of winning it, a decision will be made over the weekend. I could have three or four runners in the big hurdle race on Tuesday. Sweet Wake will not run as he just wouldn"t be ready in time, he will have a run on the flat first and might be in good enough order for Punchestown at the end of the month. Kandari would be the obvious choice for the race after the way he ran in Cheltenham. Gay Sloane and Sky Hall will also run and there"s a possibility that Silverhand might go as well. It"s a big race and it"s worth winning, so I can expect plenty of competition. Apart from the big races at Fairyhouse, I would be optimistic that Donnas Palm and Oscar Looby could also show up well. There was some good news at the weekend about Matt O"Connor who is still in hospital after sustaining injury in a fall a few weeks ago. We were all delighted to hear that he is starting to make some progress and is out of the coma. Willie Mullins told me that he was at the fence where Matt fell and that he was fired into the ground, head first, it was a bad fall and all any of us can do is hope that Matt makes a full recovery. Visit Noel Meade"s website: www.noelmeade.com