Life's a doddle for Noel Meade as he notches double

Noel Meade admitted his mind was more on where his good jumpers are going to be running over the next few weeks, but if a double at yesterday's Flat fixture at Gowran is anything to go by, his jumpers should be worth following in the near future at least.

Meade teamed up with champion jockey Colin Keane for a contrasting double, initiated by the hard-fought victory of Art Of America in the three-year-old handicap. The son of American Post wore blinkers for the first time and the length or two which Keane poached early in the straight proved crucial as he held on by a rapidly diminishing short-head from the strong-finishing Centrifolia.

The duo completed their double in far more straightforward fashion when Harvest Bow proved a ready winner of the 7f nursery.

Meade commented afterwards: “If you can train jumpers, the Flat is a doddle, I promise you!” About Harvest Bow, he said: “I knew after her last run that once she came back on soft ground she would be a different proposition. She ran a cracker first time at Galway but then she went to Dundalk and just hated it, she couldn't go on the surface at all. She worked really well the other day and I was fairly confident coming here that she could win.”

He added: “If we get the ground she might run in another nursery. To be honest, I couldn't really tell you fully what there is for her. I've a lot on my mind at the minute trying to think where I'm going to run jumpers!”

Murphy and Halpin in double form
Fethard trainer Joe Murphy had been struggling to find winners for the first half of the season, but that corner has been well and truly turned since and if more evidence was needed, it was provided by a double shared by him and rider Gary Halpin.

They combined to land both divisions of the 7f 45-65 handicap, the most dramatic victory that of Solomons Seal in division two as Halpin drove the son of Zebedee through on the inner to edge out Kodianne close to the line. The first division was hard work too as Littlevix found enough to see off the hat-trick seeking top-weight Stormy Air by half-a-length.

Halpin said after Littlevix's victory: “Her run at Roscommon a couple of starts back suggested she could win one of them, and Joe's horses have really come back in form. It's good to see him being rewarded after an absent start!”

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