Dal Cais can land opener

RACING/Down Royal preview: There is nothing tentative about Noel Meade's return to action at Down Royal today where he plans…

RACING/Down Royal preview:There is nothing tentative about Noel Meade's return to action at Down Royal today where he plans to run seven horses after a brief period when the champion trainer didn't make any entries due to a poor run of form.

Just one winner in the whole of January followed a hugely successful period before Christmas but now Meade intends to have his first runners since AIG day at Leopardstown.

Their fortunes will be keenly focused on this afternoon and an otherwise unremarkable midweek fixture will also be enlivened by Davy Russell's attempt to secure a first century of winners.

This season's leading jockey is on the 99 mark for this term and will have four rides, including on Hangover, the horse who provided Conor O'Dwyer with his first winner as a trainer, in the second maiden hurdle.

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Racing opens with a competitive looking juvenile hurdle that sees Ruby Walsh travel north in an attempt to coax a victory from the consistent but luckless Dani California.

The Willie Mullins runner found the high-class Prince Erik too good at Gowran on Thyestes day but could find the third that day, Dal Cais, a tough obstacle this afternoon.

The Mullins team should have better luck with Captain Conflict in the bumper.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

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