Meade combines fun and business during a week like no other

Spending a morning with Noel Meade in his Isuzu D-Max jeep chatting all things Galway is a bit like sitting next to David Attenborough on a safari tour of Tanzania. You sit. You listen. You learn.

You see, Meade's memories of Galway are more magical than most and he has the most eloquent way of describing each one. From Pinch Hitter winning back-to-back Galway Hurdles in 1982 and 1983 to Road To Riches running his rivals ragged in the 2014 Galway Plate, each chapter is compelling.

"My love affair with Galway is down to my uncle, Tom Halpin, who was a brother of my mother's," Meade says. "None of my own family were into racing but Tom was racing mad. He used to bring me and his son James to Galway every year from about the age of 14 onwards.

"It became a mystical place. To this day, the first time Pinch Hitter won the Galway Hurdle in 1982 is up there with one of my best ever days in racing. It was magic.

"Nowadays you might think it was only a handicap hurdle during the summer in Galway and how could it possibly compare to training winners at Cheltenham? But Pinch Hitter winning in 1982 was one of the most amazing days I've ever had in racing. I got as big of a kick out of that day than any since.

"I remember thinking to myself afterwards 'wow, this is amazing' and I can still remember that feeling. He then came back and won it the following year. They were both brilliant days. Galway has always had a special place in my heart."

The Galway Hurdle was ticked off quite early in Meade's career but it took him a little longer to tuck into the Plate. Indeed there were 32 years between his first Hurdle and first Plate success.

"I had been trying to win the Plate for a long, long time. I had won the Hurdle three times, the amateur handicap on the opening night five times, the big handicap on the Friday night a few times as well.

"I had won the big race on the Saturday too. The only big race I hadn't won at Galway was the Plate and that was bugging me. I was second in it very early on with a little mare called Avacan who was only having her second run over fences. We were second in it again another year and hit the crossbar a few times.

"So, needless to say I got a great kick out of Road To Riches winning. He was brilliant that day. He was in the zone from start to finish and he winged around the place. Shane Shortall rode him and he was basically a free 7lb because he had a hell of a lot of experience. It was a brilliant display."

But how does the 2017 Road To Riches compare to the 2014 Road To Riches? "He's got lazy and is not as forward-going as he used to be,” Meade replies instantly. "There was a time when he was hard to hold. Now he's settled, laid-back and lazy. That is one of the worries I have in the Plate this year. It's such a short run down to the first fence and they sprint towards it. He jumped it big last year and his race was over before it even began. But he was never right last year.

"The most amazing thing showed up with him. When he fell in Punchestown the April before last, we were never able to get him right afterwards. He never looked right. He was eating well but he was not putting on weight. He ran bad in the Plate. He ran moderately afterwards and I sent him to Fethard to Ger Kelly and he could find nothing.

"I sent him back again after he ran so poorly at Leopardstown [last February] and he had a new vet there from America. I told her to go through him with a fine tooth comb and find out what the hell was wrong with him so that's what she did.

"It turns out his spleen had moved to the wrong side of his stomach. His whole insides had been twisted. That probably went back to the horrible fall he got at Punchestown. So he was suffering with that for a year and we didn't know it.

Road To Riches: winning the 2014 Galway Plate from the frontCredit: Patrick McCann

"They did an extraordinary thing with him. They basically emptied him and emptied all the fluids out of his stomach. Then they filled him up again and they blew it out so his spleen went back to its proper place. He's done very well since, he's back on song now and, fingers crossed, he'll produce a big run."

A fourth Guinness Galway Hurdle is on his radar too with Joey Sasa, a useful novice from last season. “He didn't finish the season very well but he's back to himself now and in good shape. He burst in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham but he's never done it before and hasn't done it since. He has 10st 8lb and he has his chance."

Others on the Galway ticket are Showem Silver, Mr Showtime, Thomond and Tulsa Jack, but next week is just as much about pleasure as business for Meade and his new wife Derville.

"I go there every single year for a week's holiday. It's a fun week. We'll go down there and have a bit of craic. We'll meet friends and have dinner and a few drinks every evening. I'll enjoy the week and I really do look forward to it. I love the city. If I don't have a runner, I love going down into the city and having my lunch somewhere. As good as being away on holiday in a foreign country is, I nearly prefer being in Ireland chatting to Irish people."

Meade has his mojo back. He seems utterly satisfied with life right now. He's smiling. He's engaging. He's excited about the season ahead. And why wouldn't he be?

There is dual Grade 1 winner Disko to look forward to. He could be a live Cheltenham Gold Cup contender. Road To Respect won a Cheltenham Festival handicap by six lengths and went on to beat Yorkhill in the Ryanair Gold Cup at Fairyhouse. There is the unbeaten Red Jack, snapped up by JP McManus, whose form is working out spectacularly well and there are also what Meade describes as an "exciting crop of young horses" for bumpers and novice hurdles.

"I have to say I'm enjoying it as much now as I've ever done. The key is to have a happy yard. If the staff are happy, the horses are happy and happy horses win races," he explains.

"I'll admit I went through a time when I wasn't enjoying it. But that was at a time when we were on a downward spiral. We've come back now and we have some lovely horses for Paul Hunt, Gigginstown and JP, as well as a few others. We're starting to roll again.

"Training racehorses is a funny business. When you're on the rise, you keep rising. But when you start to drop off at all, it's almost a free-fall. When the recession hit us a few years ago, 60 to 65 per cent of our owners were builders. They were great, great people. They were players. Their life was basically a gamble. But they all just disappeared when the recession arrived. Over half of our owners were gone in the blink of an eye and that meant half our stock was gone too. It takes a while to get back up again.

"I never got as far as saying I was going to give it up. The thing is I don't know how to do anything else. I was bred, born and reared a farmer. But I do think I could make my living as a farmer so, as long as I'm able to work, I'll keep going. Horses are my life. I couldn't be any happier than I am right now."

Should Road To Riches land a second Galway Plate next Wednesday, three years after his first, perhaps that last sentence might need altering.

Meade's Galway getaway

Favourite Galway moment
It has to be Pinch Hitter winning his first Galway Hurdle in 1982. That was very, very special and a moment I'll never forget. It's up there with the best in my career.

Favourite Galway pub
There are a quite a few I like to visit but the Bunch Of Grapes would be towards the top of the list. It is always great craic in there.

Favourite Galway restaurant
Kirwan's Lane. They do a cracking seafood chowder and their fish is always fresh. I love it in there and you'll certainly see me in there for a night or two next week.

Favourite Galway hotel
The Park House. We've been staying there for the last few years and we've got used to it. It's very comfortable and I'm looking forward to heading back there next week.

This is available free as a sample. Members can read the latest RPSunday interviews, features and columns on racingpost.com from 6pm every Saturday