Royal County could stake claim to be the capital

MEATH could certainly make genuine claims to be installed as the horseracing capital of Ireland following a year in which Noel Meade retained his champion trainer's title, John Carr trained the winner of the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and Gordon Elliott won the Aintree Grand National.

All those statistics exclude the presence of some top jockeys who hail from the Royal County, Paul, Philip and Nina Carberry, Barry Geraghty and Declan McDonogh. Add in all the other top trainers and riders who call Meath 'home' and the evidence suggests that a good case could be made.

Crowned champion national hunt trainer for the first time less than a decade ago, at the end of the 1998 / '99 season, Castletown handler Noel Meade has remained at the summit ever since.

And the season which ended last April at Punchestown had the predictable outcome once more as Meade was again the top man ahead of such notable opposition as Willie Mullins who has consistently played second fiddle in the intervening years.

The rules were changed slightly at the beginning of the decade and awards were introduced for champion and leading trainer with winners and prizemoney the important criteria.

"Looking back on the year at this stage it is a bit unfair to highlight one success over another, but I suppose actually retaining the title again would have to down as a big moment," commented Meade this week.

"the displays of Aran Concerto and Harchibald are just two of the highlights as far as I am concerned and I'm looking forward to 2008, but I must also pay tribute to the staff who all make a big contribution to the success," he added.

The Aintree Grand National has an uncanny habit of turning the proverbial no-hoper into a household name as Trim-based trainer Gordon Elliott discovered last April.

Elliott, who had yet to train a winner under rules on his home turf, legged up Robbie Power at the Liverpool track and sent the previously well-regarded Silver Birch down to the start.

Power was only the second choice jockey as Kilmessan man Jason Maguire was committed to Idle Talk

Power, a recruit from the showjumping world who turned to race riding a few short years ago, was only having his second ride in the marathon event.

Power's conveyance, a patched up 10-year-old gelding by the aptly named Clearly Bust, was easy to back at 33/1. One of the many no-hopers in the field of 40.

But Silver Birch had known the good times. They were all in the past as he had been consigned to the Doncaster sales the previous year by former trainer Paul Nicholls who had won six races with the gelding. One of those wins was over the National fences in the Becher Chase three years ago.

Nicholls sent him to contest last year's Aintree showpiece, but he got no further than the famous Chair fence where he fell. Coincidence, perhaps, that Elliott sustained a broken arm in a fall at the same fence in 2003.

Leg problems left Silver Birch firmly in the 'rejects' category and bound for the sales, no longer wanted. Kilcock owner Brian Walsh forked out 20,000 guineas for the horse which was bred in Co. Cork.

Patience and more patience got Silver Birch back on the track at a point-to-point in November 2006 where he finished third. That he finished and finished sound was what was important.

The old campaigner found some of his former sparkle in the new surroundings at the Barry Callaghan-owned Capranny Stables outside Trim. In six outings for Elliott he has only failed to make the first four on one occasion.

And in the biggest race of the year, he showed a clean pair of heels to the opposition and proved the old adage - fact can sometimes be stranger than fiction.

The horse, trainer and jockey received a great welcome home and were paraded around various towns and villages including Trim and Summerhill.

The ability to judge pace was an essential requirement for Philip Carberry who demonstrated its benefits when he guided Sublimity to a stunning victory in the Champion Hurdle on the opening day of the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival last March.

It was also a momentous day for Meath-based trainer John Carr, a native of Kilcloon, who bought Sublimity out of the Michael Stoute stable in England for Dublin publican Bill Hennessy.

It's said that everything comes to those who wait and that was certainly the situation at Cheltenham as Carberry, a qualified helicopter pilot, sat at the back of the pack and allowed the riders on the more fancied horses to belt it out at the head of the field at supersonic speed.

Reigning champion Brave Inca, former dual winner Hardy Eustace, Asian Maze and 6/4 favourite Detroit City raced at break neck pace, an indication of the extent of the gallop being apparent from an early stage as the latter looked far from comfortable.

When the race reached the point where it should have been getting serious the big guns were in trouble and Carberry's patience, judgement and confidence were rewarded as Sublimity cruised through and then demonstrated his grit by battling ahead to score by three lengths from Brave Inca and Ruby Walsh, with Afsoun getting up to deny Hardy Eustace of third place.

Sublimity, which was returned at 16/1, caught the eye when fourth in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham a year earlier, but there appeared to be a serious danger towards the end of 2006 that he wouldn't make it back to Prestbury Park when he was extremely ill with a virus.

"I've never ridden a horse like him before and can't imagine there being one better," said an elated Carberry.

"I was very lucky to be on a horse like this. I always knew he had huge potential and it was a crunch time from the last onwards. But he went away from the last and battled well. We had a dream run throughout and I even had the luxury of taking a pull down the hill," he added.

Carberry isn't the only Meath jockey to have won on Sublimity as Johnny Murtagh enjoyed flat successes on him in 2004 and '05. Kieren Fallon also won on him twice.

Meade's only runner in the race in the absence of Harchibald and Jazz Messenger was Iktitaf and he was in the thick of things at the business end of the race before taking a crashing fall three hurdles from home.

Sublimity was the centre of attention as he was proudly prepared for the welcome home parade at Kilcloon NS the following Sunday by Skryne woman Majella Brennan.

"It was such an exciting race and a fantastic result," she stated as she unloaded the horsebox assisted by her daughter, Megan and driver Charlie Harding, a Tipperary native.

The parade route was relatively short - from the church to the school - at midday on Sunday. The parish of Kilcloon turned out in large numbers for the official 'welcome home' parade.

The parade was led by Carlow piper Michael Brennan in his full ceremonial regalia. Strangers could have been forgiven for thinking that they were witnessing some old Irish tradition for St. Patrick's weekend - crowds marching behind a piper and a horse - and  a strange looking trophy?

Sublimity took it all in his stride as did his trainer John Carr - a man who diversified from cows and livestock into bloodstock and has produced a regular flow of winners from his Killeaney stables.

"I have a Kildare address, but we are based in Meath. I'm glad that my mother is here to see this occasion and my uncle Jimmy, from Malahide, he also managed to make it over," he commented.

 "I never thought that when I came through the gates of this school as a five-year-old that I would be returning four decades later after training the winner of the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

 "When I went to Cheltenham last week I had the flu, but amazingly it was cured shortly after 3.0 last Tuesday," he added.

The Carberry family was also there in good numbers and winning jockey Philip was able to reflect on his week at Prestbury Park.

"It was as easy as it looked, he's a very good horse and it was a great start to the week, to ride a second winner was fantastic, but Sublimity could go back there in 2008 and win it again, if everything goes okay for him and he avoids injury," stated the jockey.