Racing:Noel Meade plans to give Go Native a post-racing workout at Leopardstown on Sunday week to crown his preparations for the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on March 16th.
Last year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner is in line for a £1million payout if again striking at the Festival as the WBX Hurdling Triple Crown is within touching distance.
The seven-figure sum is available to any horse who can win the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle in November, Kempton’s Christmas Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle in the same season - and Go Native has the first two legs safely locked away.
Meade said: “We will probably take him away to Leopardstown rather than Navan to work as the ground will be better for him there.
“We worked Harchibald at Navan 10 days before he ran in the Champion Hurdle and he ended up pulling himself up on heavy ground.”
Go Native is a general 6-1 chance to scoop the bonus after beating some of the leading protagonists at Newcastle and Kempton, with Meade having rested the seven-year-old since his success on December 26th.
“We stopped with him after Christmas and didn’t train him through January,” explained Meade.
“He was hacking every day but didn’t do any fast work as we slowed him right down.
“We have started quickening him up again and we now need to get him to Cheltenham in good form.”
Go Native scampered away from the field turning for home in the Supreme last year, only to tire on the run-in under Paul Carberry and cling on by a neck from Medermit.
“Paul murdered them turning in and Medermit got close, but we were in front too long,” Meade added.
“If we get there in the same form this year we’ll hold on to him longer and the quicker they go, the better it will be for him.
“Having got to this stage we just wanted to get there now and hope he travels well again.”