Meade makes good start

Castletown trainer Noel Meade made a good start to the Leopardstown Christmas Festival today when winning the opening race. Ned Buntline was an easy winner of the opening maiden hurdle at the Foxrock venue where a big crowd attended the first of four days of top class racing action. Paul Carberry had Ned Buntline well placed to challenge for the lead turning into the straight and eased into the lead over the last and win from Urano with Grey Monk back in third. "Paul said the ground was a shade soft for him, but we think he is a good horse. He will improve a good bit when he learns to settle and jumps more relaxed," remarked the trainer. Click on link (if necessary) for video of race - http://youtu.be/vAN-vASjl_g Andy Lynch, who was the head man in Noel Meade's for many years, had a winner in Limerick where Robbie Colgan partnered the Chris Jones-owned Futuramic to victory in a maiden hurdle. The five-year-old seems to like Limerick and in three runs there there has finished third, second and first. Gordon Elliott was on the mark at Down Royal with Torn Asunder while Barry Geraghty won the opening race at Kempton today with the Nicky Henderson-trained River Maigue