Racing News round-up: Solerina is on target to have her first start over three miles at Navan on Sunday in what could yet turn out to be the toughest Stayers' Hurdle trial of the season. Brian O'Connor reports.
The James Bowe-trained mare is one of 16 entries left in the McCabe Builders Boyne Hurdle and they include the Jonjo O'Neill-trained Iris's Gift who could yet travel across the Irish Sea to make his first start in almost ten months.
"He will work on Thursday morning and Jonjo won't make a decision about where he goes until after that," said a spokesperson for the trainer yesterday.
Iris's Gift has a number of alternative options in Britain for his first race since winning at Aintree but the Bowe camp are far from running scared at the thought of a clash with last year's Stayers' runner-up.
"It would be very interesting and we would know exactly where we stand if he did run," said Bowe's son Michael who will also run Florida Coast in the race.
Iris's Gift, just three quarters of a length of Baracouda at Cheltenham last year, where the Bowe-trained Limestone Lad was third, is a 4 to 1 second favourite to dethrone the French superstar this time. Solerina is next best in the ante-post betting at 11 to 2.
Baracouda's impressive performance at Sandown at the weekend tightened his grip on the festival market even further but the Navan contest may yet throw up a valid challenger to the current title holder.
"Solerina has never attempted three miles before and while you never know how they will do until they do it I have to be honest and say I'm confident she will have no problems with the trip. As far as we can make out stamina is a strong point with her," Bowe said yesterday.
Gary Hutchinson has ridden Solerina to five of her 11 career victories to date and is expected to retain the ride with Paul Carberry like to be on the Noel Meade trained Rosaker. "Noel's are back in form so I think it is a safe bet that we'll stick with Gary. I don't know yet about a jockey for Florida Coast," Bowe added. The farthest Solerina has raced over in the past is the close on two miles and seven furlongs she won over at Thurles in November of 2002. The going at Navan was "yielding to soft" yesterday.
Also in the Boyne Hurdle is Hardy Eustace who also has the option of Gowran Park's Red Mills Hurdle the previous day. Gowran also hosts the Red Mills Chase on Saturday but one significant name missing from the entry list yesterday was Beef Or Salmon who now looks likely to go to the Cheltenham Gold Cup without a prep run.
"It looks that way," admitted trainer Michael Hourigan who, nevertheless, insists he is 100 per cent confident that Beef Or Salmon will run in the Gold Cup despite the physio' treatment that kept him out of the Hennessy at the weekend.
"I don't need to get a race into him because I have the gallops at home to prepare him on and I think some of the racecourses will look after me too. I'm not worried about that and I'm not worried about Cheltenham. The problem with the Hennessy was that it might have put us back. You have to be realistic and be swayed by the physio and she doesn't want him jumping just yet," Hourigan said.
Beef Or Salmon remains the shortest priced Irish-trained Gold Cup contender and Hourigan described Florida Pearl's fourth Hennessy success as "some achievement".
Willie Mullins reported that Florida Pearl pulled out "fine" yesterday morning and added: "The extra two furlongs of the Gold Cup has just been a bit much for Florida Pearl in the past but he will be there again and we'll give it a shot."
