Sport

NAVAN PREVIEW

THERE will be few direct clues to next week's Cheltenham Festival Meeting to be gleaned at Navan and Naas this weekend but trainers…

Sat Mar 08 1997 - 00:00

THERE will be few direct clues to next week's Cheltenham Festival Meeting to be gleaned at Navan and Naas this weekend but trainers with runners booked for the journey would be glad of any morale boosting win.

One such trainer is Dermot Weld, whose Stylish Allure qualified for the Triumph Hurdle, when landing some late wagers of substance at Leopardstown last Sunday and whose cause can be endorsed by a victory for Double Colour in division two of the Ballivor Maiden Hurdle at Navan today.

Double Colour started at odds of 50 to 1 at Leopardstown but stayed on well close home to finish fifth to Stylish Allure and the judge, having examined the picture, ruled that he had lost third place to the favourite, Grey Guy, by two short-heads.

Diamantino, a stablemate of Grey Guy, slipped up on the flat when making headway in a Naas bumper and could be the danger.

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If Saving Bond can be held up for a late dash, this Noel Meade novice may end a long losing streak in division one. He was a beaten favourite last time as was Willie Mullins's Native-Darrig, who has been declared for the first event at Naas tomorrow as Pat Hartigan took a lot of money out of the ring at Leopardstown last weekend but had to be ridden right out to the line to win. Improvement can be expected as that was his first start after a protracted lay-off and he may have the edge on the handicapper and on Aidan O'Brien's runner Bells Bridge in the £15,000 Irish National Hunt Stallion Owners EBF Novice Handicap Hurdle.

Magical Lady, disqualified from second place in the Triumph Hurdle twelve months ago, now finds herself tackling fences early in March, rather than Cheltenham. If she takes to them, ther is no reason why anything in the declared runners should trouble her in the Baltinglass Beginners Chase.

For the Saturday nap I put up See Just There in the Bective Flat Race and Willie Mullins will be hoping that his bumpers' horses can keep running to their mark as his Florida Pearl has long been at the top of the betting for the Cheltenham bumper, a race he won last year with Wither Or Which.

See Just there backed from 3 to 1 down to 6 to 4 favouritism at Clonmel last month, won in the style of an odds-on chance. Ruby Walsh slipped him to the front more than three furlongs out and quickly going clear, he was eased down to score by 13 lengths from Slavica.