COLM MURPHY doesn’t look like having a particularly relaxing Christmas, as the Co Wexford trainer plans on making a last-minute decision on whether or not to allow Voler La Vedette take on the big boys in Leopardstown’s December Festival Hurdle.
The prolific mare impressively beat Go Native on her previous start at Down Royal, form that was subsequently boosted in spectacular style by Noel Meade’s runner in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.
That saw Voler La Vedette enter many people’s Champion Hurdle calculations but Murphy’s initial reaction was to favour a tilt at the Grade Three hurdle for mares at Leopardstown over the holiday period. However, he could yet have a late change of heart.
“The way things are shaping up, I’m not sure any more. Hurricane Fly has missed pieces of work and you wouldn’t know what might happen. I had been kind of set on running her in the mares race but I think now I will leave her in the Grade One as well and leave a decision to the last minute. She’s in very good form at the minute,” he said yesterday.
Bookmakers, however, reckon Voler La Vedette will try and establish her Champion Hurdle credentials in the day-four feature at Leopardstown and have made her a general 4 to 1 shot behind Hurricane Fly and Solwhit for the Leopardstown race.
Murphy also hasn’t ruled out his star two-mile chaser Big Zeb from making a holiday appearance in the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase, a race he won at Leopardstown last year. Big Zeb proved a bitter disappointment behind Twist Magic in the Tingle Creek at Sandown earlier this month where Murphy reckons a quick reappearance after winning the Fortria on his seasonal debut took its toll.
“He is a better horse fresh and after saying that all season we still went to Sandown because it was a tempting race to go for. You have to jump and travel at that track and he didn’t do either,” he said.
“We’re not worried about him or anything, but what I don’t want is to make the same mistake twice with him. I’m afraid Christmas will come too quick. We will leave a decision to next week and if he freshens up and comes back to himself it will be an option. But at this stage I would say it is unlikely,” he added.
Go Native will have his own holiday target at Kempton on St Stephen’s Day but the stakes will be considerably richer for Noel Meade’s star who will take the second step towards a possible £1 million WBX Triple Crown Bonus if successful in the William Hill Christmas Hurdle.
The Fighting Fifth was the first leg of a bonus scheme that winds up with the Champion Hurdle in March, and WBX reckon it is 24 to 1 about Go Native bringing off the lucrative hat-trick.
“All has been okay since Newcastle and although he has not been worked too hard, Go Native has done everything we’ve asked of him,” Meade said yesterday.
“Davy Condon will ride him again. When a horse wins at 25 to 1 there is always a danger they won’t get the credit for what they’ve done. I think the price was down to the defeat by Colm Murphy’s mare but we should never have run at Down Royal. The ground was completely against us,” he added.
Encouragingly for Meade, he has a fine record in the Christmas Hurdle having won it in the past with both Harchibald and Jazz Messenger.
In the more short term, bookmakers will be hoping that the Listed feature at Thurles this Sunday will again pay big dividends for them ahead of the Christmas bonanza.
Catch Me was a spectacular 2 to 11 failure in the Horse And Jockey Hurdle in 2007 while last year Solwhit was beaten at odds of 1 to 3 behind the subsequent Coral Cup hero Ninetieth Minute.
A total of just seven entries remain in the two-mile race this weekend and Willie Mullins has a powerful hand with both Mourad and the hugely improved Thousand Stars in the mix.
The latter is 8lb higher in official ratings after following up an easy debut success for Mullins with a good success at Fairyhouse under Katie Walsh.
