Dundalk's highly-praised new all-weather racetrack could end up hosting a number of fixtures devoted exclusively to National Hunt bumper horses next year.

Horse Racing Ireland's chief executive Brian Kavanagh indicated yesterday it's probable that National Hunt flat races will be run at the new €38 million stadium next year.

"It is definitely something we will be looking into and I would say it is likely to happen next year. The Dundalk track is a suitable facility to host bumpers," Kavanagh said yesterday.

"Obviously we would have to talk to trainers about whether or not they would want to run bumper horses on the polytrack rather than turf.

"But the flexibility is there to run them and I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be programmes that are all bumper races," he added.

That will be good news for many jump trainers who currently struggle with the balloting system to secure running opportunities for their horses although Kavanagh was keen to stress another benefit that's likely to come from the addition of the new racecourse.

"I think, more importantly, Dundalk will give us the ability to move more flat races from some of the country tracks to the all-weather. That has always been part of the plan with Dundalk," he said.

"Next year there will be 25 fixtures there but that doesn't mean there will be 175 extra flat races in the programme.

"Some races will be transferred from country tracks which will then be able to run more National Hunt races, especially maiden hurdles. We are well aware that, in a way, the greatest need for opportunities is in the National Hunt sphere," Kavanagh added.

The spring and autumn of 2008 are the most likely dates for any possible exclusively bumper cards at a track which has been classified as Grade One by HRI in terms of the allocation of race programmes and prize money.

An average of €150,000 prize money per meeting for the dozen fixtures remaining this year at Dundalk has already been allocated.

One horse who will be remaining on turf is Tommy Stack's high-class Alexander Tango although the filly will be making a trans-Atlantic trip to New York on September 8th in order to do so.

The Grade One Garden City Breeders' Cup Handicap, a nine-furlong race won two years ago by David Wachman's Luas Line, is on the cards for the Stack runner.

"She will probably go to Belmont Park for that race which is confined to three-year-olds. There is an outside chance we might wait for the Matron but Belmont is the more likely race," said Stack's son and assistant, "Fozzie," yesterday.

There aren't likely to be future Grade One operators in action at Sligo this evening but Cheddar Island does look an interesting newcomer to the jumping game in the two-mile maiden hurdle.

Kevin Prendergast felt he couldn't win a handicap with this horse off a mark of 90 on the flat but he did get Cheddar Island to score twice in claimers at Leopardstown and Ballinrobe.

His new trainer, Joanna Morgan, has booked the season's leading rider Davy Russell for Cheddar Island's first run over flights and it doesn't look the toughest assignment for a newcomer.

Tonight's claimer should fall to the 79-rated Wildwish if Enda Kelly's horse runs up to the form he showed in May when third to Contest at Naas.

The Tall Texan is an interesting newcomer in the bumper but Nina Carberry could again provide the answer to this race on board Caughtontheriver.