Setbacks fail to derail Meade’s enthusiasm
TRAINER STILL GETS HIS KICKS FROM THE FESTIVAL
NOEL MEADE found himself in Bunbrosna recently to run his eye over a horse that he was thinking of buying. Out of curiosity, he turned off to Multyfarnham to see what had become of the old agricultural college where he boarded as a teenager. Meade was only there a few months but the school left an impression on him, for a reason.
‘One of the priests had a grainy black and white TV and we got to see Arkle win the Gold Cup. It was 1966 and it was magical,’ he recalled.
More than half a century on, the college is closed but the Cheltenham fire still burns inside Meade, for whom the annual trek to the Cotswolds is akin to a Camino pilgrimage. In good years, and the not so good, Meade has rocked up at Prestbury Park and dared to dream. More often than most trainers, he got chinned.
It started in 1980, when Batista, his second runner at the Festival, was edged out by Heighlin in the Triumph Hurdle. All told, he reckons he’s been involved in ‘about eight photo finishes’ and lost the lot.
When Tiananmen Square was eclipsed by Montelado in the Champion Bumper of ’92, Meade was so miffed he banged his fist into the windscreen on the drive to Birmingham Airport after racing. ‘We could barely see where we were going,’ he grinned.
The worst was probably Hill Society in the Arkle Trophy of ’98, who was touched off by Champleve.
‘He was ahead before the line and ahead immediately after it but on the bob, Richard Dunwoody wasn’t sure. We had to wait an age for the result. It was agony. When the result was called out, I was gutted. I had to leave the course, so I went outside, sat on the bonnet of a car, and talked to an attendant for half an hour,’ he said.
Two years later, Native Dara jumped the last in the Coral Hurdle in the clear for Barry Geraghty but was mugged on the post by What’s Up Boys. With runners-up in the Gold Cup (Harbour Pilot) and Champion Hurdle (Harchibald), Meade has hit the crossbar more often than most and four Festival winners is a modest return for the eight-time Irish champion.
But Cheltenham, as Meade knows from painful experience, is no easy ride.
‘When you’ve runners at Cheltenham, you do have pressure. It’s because everyone is expecting so much. And there’s so much disappointment there,’ he said. ‘If you’re in the top four, it’s ok because at least you’re coming back in to the top end of the parade ring. But the other unsaddling ring, for the long face brigade as we call it, is not a happy place.
‘We’d always be delighted to congratulate our colleagues, (but) we’d also rather be winning ourselves. That’s the way all sport is. It’s the world championships and if you didn’t enjoy it I don’t think you’d be in racing.
‘We haven’t won at Cheltenham as often as we’d have liked but when we have, we took out some big names,’ he observed. ‘Sausilito Bay, my first winner, beat Best Mate in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. I remember coming in and kissing the ground. It’s a day I’ll never forget. Then Nicanor beat Denman in the Sun Alliance.’
When Go Native won the Supreme Novices’ in 2009 under Paul Carberry, Meade missed the celebrations as he was laid up back at home in Castletown, County Meath.
‘I got an infection in my spine after an operation. It was very painful and it got to a stage where I was nearly ready to shoot myself,’ he recalled.
Even when Very Wood stayed on for Carberry to claim the Albert Bartlett Hurdle in 2014, the success for Meade was swamped by the enquiry post-script to the Gold Cup drama.
With two days to go this year, Meade could yet be a significant player as he seeks his first success over fences with the grey Disko (JLT Chase) and Road To Respect (Plate Chase), while he’s also got Snow Falcon in the Stayers’ Hurdle.
For tomorrow, Meade has Ice Cold Soul for the County Hurdle but won’t know until this morning if he makes the cut for the competitive handicap. It’s as strong a hand as he has had for a long time and reflects a more rewarding season.
‘We’ve more support from Gigginstown, as we got 25 horses from them, and Paul Hunt in the North is also a big help as well,’ he explained. We lifted our main gallop and resurfaced it; that has probably been one of the main things, too. It seems to have helped as we don’t seem to be having injuries like we had before.
‘This time last year, we weren’t seeing it out. Practically, everything we did went wrong. If we have a bit of luck, Disko has a great chance as does Ice Cold Soul (County Hurdle) if the handicapper doesn’t hit him hard. I think I’ve a few horses with good chances. In saying that, I don’t think I’ll be leading trainer,’ he quipped.
Meade stops over in lodgings close to the racecourse. It’s known as Paddyville, such are the number of Irish billeted there.
‘Tony Mullins is with me and that keeps the riot going from one end of the week to another. In the evenings, we go from house to house, have a drink and a chat.’
The close-knit crew includes fellow trainers Willie Mullins, Ted Walsh and Paul Nolan and sometimes the nights can last longer than the National Hunt Chase.
As for Meade, he’s a proven stayer.
‘We congratulate colleagues, but you want to win yourself’