Festival may not see out its four days

A MAXIMUM field of 30 runners are due to line up in Monday’s Powers Whiskey Irish Grand National, the €250,000 centrepiece of a four-day Easter Festival that will start tomorrow but which might not make it through to the end on Wednesday.

The wet weather which left the Fairyhouse track unraceable during the week could return with a vengeance on Easter Monday, and while hopes are high for the National, a worst-case forecast might interfere with plans for Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We are being told we could get 10mm of rain on Monday and we should be able to handle that,” said Fairyhouse manager Caroline Gray yesterday. “But we are also told that we might get up to 40mm if the bad weather that is expected to hit the west of the country makes it as far as us.

“We should get through Monday alright if we get all that,” she added, “ but it would worry us for Tuesday and Wednesday. Certainly if the place is ploughed up after three days, the fourth day could suffer.”

Running the National on schedule has been the Fairyhouse priority throughout, however, and although the accent will be on stamina in Monday’s three-mile- five-furlong feature, a maximum field of 30 will still take on the challenge.

They include favourite Saddlers Storm, the well-backed Alpha Ridge and a trio of cross-sea runners, including Double Dizzy, who represents last year’s winning trainer, Bob Buckler.

“We could wait until Sunday to travel. I don’t want to head over and then the meeting gets abandoned,” Buckler said yesterday.

Siegemaster will carry topweight, but trainer Dessie Hughes said: “It is 11.7, which isn’t bad. He carried 11.8 in the Thyestes and led over the last.

“The ground is going to tell on all of them, but you wouldn’t know who will stay the trip.”