Kandari gets new year off to a positive start

It"s a quiet week with the excitement of the Christmas and new year racing behind us. The next big meeting is Leopardstown on Sunday, with the Grade B Pierse Hurdle the feature event there. We have a number entered, but Sky Hall will probably be the only one running. However he"ll need the top weight to stay in. He ran in the Ladbroke at Ascot before Christmas and was going well until he fell at the third last on the run in. It"s hard to know how he would have finished, but he looked like he was going to run well. He came home a little bit sore, but we"ll see how he works this week. Others entered are Right or Wrong and Mr Muji, but there is no decision on those two yet. Fisher Bridge was up against a big horse at Naas on Sunday in Mikael D"haguenet in the Goffs Slaney Novice Hurdle. But we knew that. We had run into him with Realt Dubh and Pandorama in the past, and knew what we were up against. It was a stupid sort of a race. There was no gallop in it at all. Plenty of pace really suits Fisher Bridge - Sunday"s pace didn"t suit him at all. And, of course, Willie Mullins currently has his horses in wonderful form. He has so many very good horses, and is scooping plenty of hurdle races and bumpers. He was always hard to beat in the bumpers. What can you say - he won and won with authority. He had a great treble on Sunday at Naas, with Jayo, Mikael and Quadrillon. And it"s great for young Paddy Mullins. Any jockey riding winners is going to increase in confidence and it gives you more confidence when you keep winning. Naturally, its easier to do the right thing when you"re winning, but he"s a big tall lad and at 18 or 19 it"s a great experience for him. As we had hoped and expected last week, Kandari won well enough at Fairyhouse on New Year"s Day in the New Year Maiden Hurdle. The ground was very bad at Ratoath - hopefully he"ll improve with the going a bit better. He"s not an overly big horse and the second horse - Gentleman Jeff and Paul Townend - really put it up to him in the end. Aran Concerto was held up in the first week in December just before we were going to run him in the Drinmore at Fairyhouse. It turned out to be a stifle problem. There will be no move on him for another week or so until he is 100 per cent right. He was x-rayed a week ago and was to be left resting for about two weeks, so we"ll see how he is in a week. Pandorama was second to Mikael D"haguenet in the Barry and Sandra Kelly Memorial Hurdle at Navan before Christmas. He was discovered to lame after the race which may be an excuse for his disappointing performance that day. It may have had some bearing on it. He is 100 per cent now and we"re not sure where to go next with him. The owner is keen on Cheltenham, and we probably will go there. He"s set to run as a chaser next season . Nicanor has been off the track for the best part of two years but is working out fully now and everything keeps going the right way. He was ready before Christmas and had another setback but is swimming since the last hold up and is now back in full work and should be back in action towards the end of this month or early February. Jered was disappointing when third to Hardy Eustace in November. He is fine but he hasn"t handled heavy ground any time he has run on it. He has been away resting with his owners for a month and we are hopeful he will be ready for the Irish Champion Hurdle. The Leopardstown Chase is two miles five this year, which is a change in distance that should work very well. It seems a good idea as it was close to the Thyestes and the Paddy Power chases.