Cup on menu for Salmon

RACING: Beef Or Salmon could yet have another start this season - the Power Gold Cup at Fairyhouse next month.

RACING: Beef Or Salmon could yet have another start this season - the Power Gold Cup at Fairyhouse next month.

The star novice returned yesterday morning to a Michael Hourigan yard left desolate by the death of its former stalwart Dorans Pride. "Beef Or Salmon is in good form. He will tell us if he is ready for another run this season. But the Power Gold Cup is the option I'm looking at," Hourigan said.

The trainer was also having to try and come to terms with a disastrous Cheltenham that saw Beef Or Salmon fall in the Gold Cup, Hi Cloy fall in the SunAlliance Hurdle and Dorans Pride pay the ultimate price in the Christie's Foxhunters.

"To take four horses and have three of them fall is hard to take," said the trainer who reported that he and his staff are slowly recovering from the loss of the popular 14-year-old.

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"He was a wonderful horse, an iron horse and he will be a huge loss. It could have happened in a point-to-point or up the gallops here, so I suppose if it had to happen Cheltenham was the place," he added.

This afternoon's meeting at Tramore will ease punters back into more run of the mill action and the Arthur Moore-Conor O'Dwyer combination can make the transition easier by winning the first.

Graphic Storm's fourth to Masteroffoxhounds at Down Royal in January doesn't read too badly in today's context and he should be able to cope with Polar Scout.

The same team have Native Jack in the novice chase but this one was a rather fortunate winner at Punchestown last time out. Garvivonnian, runner-up to On The Mend, might in the circumstances be a value alternative. Keep It Dark ran fourth to Soundz Of Muzic at Thurles and the Tom Cahill-trained horse looks a better bet than Miss Joppy in the handicap hurdle.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor is the racing correspondent of The Irish Times. He also writes the Tipping Point column