Another record for Noel Meade

Castletown trainer Noel Meade completed yet another milestone in his career at the weekend when he sent out his 2000th winner. The achievement was all the more memorable for the popular handler as it was completed at his local track, Navan, and featured yet another stylish performance from his stable jockey Paul Carberry. Meade made it an afternoon to remember at Proudstown after winning the Kells Beginners Chase with Rinroe and he didn"t have to wait too long for number 2001 to come along as scarcely 30 minutes later Nina Carberry landed the bumper with Donnas Palm to complete a double for the Castletown yard. Meade began his training career back in 1971 with just one horse, a grey gelding named Tu Va which provided him with his first winner as an amateur jockey in a hurdle race at Wexford. 'Back in those days it was a case of doing it out of a love for the game. It was just me and a friend that owned the horses and the whole thing slowly gathered pace with more and more horses coming into the yard from outside owners,' he commented. 'I was quite lucky in the early years in that we got a few decent horses on the flat and the win of Sweet Mint in the 1978 at Royal Ascot was vitally important. ' I was delighted to record my 2000th winner at Navan with Paul Carberry, hopefully they will continue,' he added. However, trainer Dessie Hughes was the star performer at Navan on Saturday with a treble. Cortown jockey Roger Loughran rode two of those winners, Valhalla Vision in the opening maiden hurdle and Mohtarres in the handicap hurdle with Ian McCarthy completing the treble with Montero. Summerhill jockey Robert Power was stood down for seven day following a fall in a hurdle race. Drumree jockey Barry Geraghty was the man in form at Downpatrick on Wednesday where he completed a double in the final two races on the card. He opened his account on the Brian Hamilton-trained Mister Lucky before following up in a chase with the Tom Taaffe-trained Window Of Hope. Bohermeen jockey Johnny Murtagh was hauled before the British horseracing hierarchy last week with trainer Aidan O"Brien and fellow jockey Colm O"Donoghue arising out of an investigation into the Juddmonte International. Murtagh won the race on 4/6 favourite Duke Of Marmalade After a three-hour hearing in London, O"Brien was fined £5,000 and Murtagh and O"Donoghue were each suspended for seven days by a BHA disciplinary panel. Interesting decision in relation to Murtagh who won the race on the favourite. What more could he do in the circumstances, if he had lost would he have been guilty of something else or would there have been any rumblings at all. Murtagh was back in the winners" enclosure at the Curragh on Sunday, but only after an eventful day which included a bizzare incident on board the Ger Lyons-trained 7/2 joint-favourite Dohasa in the opening race. Dohasa made a swift getaway from the stalls, but left Murtagh behind. There was compensation for Murtagh and Lyons later when the duo won the Goff"s Sportsman Challenge with Pasar Silbano which is owned by the trainer"s wife, Lynne. 'Pasar Silbano has been a pleasure all year, she"ll make a lovely three-year-old, the ground was a bit a slow and dead, but everything seemed to work out, she may go for a Listed Race at Dundalk,' stated the trainer.