Edward O'Grady has described as "formidable" the task that Ned Kelly faces in trying to re-establish his Champion Hurdle credentials by beating Limestone Lad at Fairyhouse on Sunday.
The younger horse was beaten for the first time over jumps when he failed to repulse Limestone Lad's renewed effort in the Morgiana at Punchestown earlier this month.
On Sunday, the pair clash again in the Hatton's Grace Hurdle, and O'Grady is under no illusions about the scale of the job Ned Kelly faces.
"I have to appreciate that Limestone Lad is right on top of his game right now and will be racing over his favourite trip. He also meets my horse 3lb better than the last day, so logically he should confirm that defeat.
"But I think my horse is an improving five-year-old and I'm hopeful he will give a very good account of himself," O'Grady continued. "Certainly I wouldn't run him if I wasn't hopeful he could reverse the form.
"Having said that, I'm under no illusions about the task he is being asked to take on. What's being put before him is a formidable task," O'Grady said yesterday.
Asked if he will approach the race any differently to the Morgiana, which attracted some criticism of rider Norman Williamson, O'Grady replied: "I will approach the race in exactly the same way. What the jockey does is a different matter!"
Away from the O'Grady yard, there was a sustained burst of market support for Limestone Lad yesterday evening in Paddy Power's ante-post market, and the big race favourite is now a 5 to 4 shot from 7 to 4.
"Over the last hour and a half, it seems like every shrewdie in the country is trying to get into Limestone Lad's corner," a Power spokesman said.
The O'Grady-trained Get It Done will also be hoping to return to winning form by taking on Le Coudray and Macs Gildoran in the Grade One Drinmore Chase on Sunday, but O'Grady's impressive Navan scorer, Over The Bar, misses out on the Royal Bond Hurdle.
"Over The Bar probably won't run. The owner has Like-A-Butterfly in the race and Over The Bar will probably wait for the Kelly Memorial Hurdle at Navan on December 15th," the trainer said.
Over The Bar's likely defection will leave a small but select field for the Royal Bond. Another JP McManus-owned horse, Yeoman's Point, is being re-routed to a race on Saturday, but Golden Row is a likely challenger to Like-A-Butterfly, while the English-trained Castleshane is also being targeted at the Grade One contest.
n Mick Fitzgerald was yesterday ruled out of the prestigious Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup meeting at Newbury this weekend. The Irishman failed in his bid to overturn a six-day suspension at a meeting of the Jockey Club's disciplinary committee yesterday morning. "I might retreat to Ireland and watch the big race on television," said a dejected Fitzgerald.
