Racing: Noel Meade is keeping his fingers crossed the rain stays away from Fairyhouse to aid the chances of Casey Jones in tomorrow's Irish Grand National.
The eight-year-old has enjoyed a productive season thus far, winning twice over fences including a Grade One success in the Knight Frank Novice Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas.
He ran with plenty of credit when flying up the hill to finish fifth in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham last month and with the step up in trip likely to suit, Meade admits he is a major player if conditions are right.
“The better the ground the better his chance really and we just have to hope that the top horses stay in to keep our weight down,” said Meade.
“We know our lad stays well so I think the trip should be fine for him, it is just a case of the ground being right for him. He wasn’t disgraced at Cheltenham where the ground was probably a bit tacky for him and he seems to have come out of that race in good enough shape.
“He has plenty of weight and the handicapper gave him probably five or six pounds more than I thought he would but that’s the way it goes.
“If conditions are right for him I hope he will run a big race.”
Poker De Sivola was one of the gambles of the Cheltenham Festival last month when sent off favourite for the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase, but his partner that day, Nina Carberry, also felt that the ground was too tacky for him and he could only finish seventh.
His trainer Ferdy Murphy knows exactly what is required to win an Irish National, having taken the race with Granit D’Estruval in 2004 and finished second with Nine De Sivola — like Poker De Sivola a novice — in 2007.
The handler said: “He ran well and jumped great in Cheltenham but got trapped out wide and the race didn’t pan out in the way that we had wanted.
“Anyway he jumped around there and seems in good order and the experience will have done him good.
“Before Cheltenham he was going the right way when he made a mistake at Wetherby and paid the penalty with a fall.
“I think he’ll stay the three-mile-five trip as he travels well in races. In the Irish National you have got to get into a rhythm early on and get jumping. Hopefully then you can avoid any traffic problems and getting bumped and creep into it gradually.”