Majestic Concerto makes the grade

Report from Navan:Aran Concerto made the transition from "talking horse" to proven Grade One winner in some style at Navan yesterday and catapulted himself to the position of a Cheltenham festival favourite in the process.

A smoothly impressive seven-length defeat of his big rival Footy Facts in the Barry and Sandra Kelly Memorial Novice Hurdle was enough for bookmakers to make Aran Concerto as low as 4 to 1 favourite for the Ballymore Properties Novices Hurdle, formerly the SunAlliance.

In the process, he also vindicated champion trainer Noel Meade's judgment that he could have an exceptional prospect on his hands, and the pressure-generating tag of "potentially the best I've ever trained" now appears to have secured an even more secure attachment on to Aran Concerto's massive frame.

"I was reading the papers over the weekend and wondering why I ever said what I did," grinned Meade, who admitted to feeling the pressure before yesterday.

"But he's making his own headlines now. I don't need to say any more. He never put a foot wrong. The way he is bred I wouldn't imagine him going back to two miles and, after he's had a good break, I could see a race like the Deloitte at Leopardstown making sense for him," he added.

The Grade Three winner Footy Facts was passed at the third last by Aran Concerto, who understandably got tired on the run-in but still looked a young horse with the racing world at his feet.

"His jumping was great but he does have great scope and a few gears as well. The second is a very good horse too. We'll enter him for everything at Cheltenham and take it one day at a time from here," said Meade.

The champion trainer also teamed up with Paul Carberry to land the following conditions race with the odds-on Orbit O'Gold, and reported that his mercurial hurdler Harchibald is back in work after a muscle injury but won't be racing at Christmas.

Carberry's day ended after Orbit O'Gold, however, as a finger injury he picked up on Saturday played up and he was stood down in order to get X-rays.

"He's in a fair bit of pain with a suspected fracture. He will be seeing an orthopaedic surgeon and I hope he will be able to ride over Christmas," said the Turf Club medical officer, Dr Walter Halley.

Timmy Murphy made the trip from Britain for the Footy Facts ride, but it was his former colleague Adrian Maguire who supplied him with the winning ride on Celestial Wave who made most to land the Grade Two Giltspur Tara Hurdle.

Neither Southern Vic nor the well-backed favourite Mounthenry could get to grips with the mare, who got some 25 to 1 quotes for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle on the back of her length-and-a-half success.

"The Stayers has always been at the back of my mind but there's no point jumping the gun," said Maguire.

"There are plenty of other races, and besides that, Cheltenham is often too good because they've buggered up the drainage system!"

A pair of ninth placings from five starts was the best Pay To Production had produced over hurdles up to yesterday, but that didn't stop a major gamble on the Christy Roche-trained horse who beat the favourite, Dun Doire, in the handicap hurdle.

"He was third in the Christmas bumper at Leopardstown last year but he hurt his back and has never been fully right since. He still hangs like a gate and I'd say he's a good horse who's only ever going to be half right," said Roche.

"He's a brother to Keen Leader and I told the owners he had a chance. I'm glad he won for them."

Mick The Man was an odds-on favourite for the Grade Two bumper, but in a slowly run race he just failed to overhaul Philip Fenton's mare, Shirley Casper.