Irish racing: The fallout from Solerina's tumble at Navan last Sunday appears to have continued into this weekend with the star mare's regular jockey Gary Hutchinson being dropped from the ride on her stable companion Sweet Kiln at Naas tomorrow.
The James Bowe team have decided to replace Hutchinson with David Casey when Sweet Kiln lines up for the €50,000 Grade Two Woodlands Park 100 Johnstown Novice Hurdle at the Kildare racecourse.
The move comes on the back of Solerina's first racecourse fall in the Boyne Hurdle last weekend when she was attempting a three-mile trip for only the second time in her illustrious career.
Bowe's son Michael said yesterday: "In every walk of life change is good and that includes racing. We have never had a stable jockey here and we are continuing the policy of using the best available on the day."
Hutchinson came out on top in the Grade Three Monksfield Hurdle on Sweet Kiln earlier this season but he has struck gold in the last number of years aboard Solerina. The partnership has won nine races including the Grade One Hatton's Grace Hurdle twice.
"My agent has told me I don't ride Sweet Kiln. I'm disappointed but it's their decision," said Hutchinson yesterday. "We came up with the same plan at Navan but it just looks bad when she fell. If she'd won I'd have been the best in the world."
In other news, Beef Or Salmon will this morning have his first proper work-out since finishing runner-up in the Hennessy Gold Cup.
The Michael Hourigan-trained star was put on a course of antibiotics for an infection after that race and he scoped clean yesterday.
"I was always confident he would," said Hourigan. "He has been cantering all week but he will work in the morning and we can continue building up to Cheltenham."
Michael O'Brien revealed yesterday he is likely to leave a decision on who will ride Essex in the Smurfit Champion Hurdle until a week before the Cheltenham festival.
Barry Geraghty has ridden the progressive five-year-old to victories in the Pierse Hurdle and the Totesport Trophy this season but he is committed to Macs Joy in the championship.
"I won't be doing anything about it until a week beforehand. We will wait and see what happens and who becomes available," O'Brien said yesterday. "The horse has come out of Newbury in very good shape."
The Johnstown Hurdle could emerge as the most significant of the Grade Two Cheltenham trials tomorrow afternoon and there is sure to be plenty of interest in the second start over hurdles of Dermot Weld's horse Queen Astrid.
A Stakes winner on the flat, Queen Astrid won her Christmas debut in good style at Leopardstown but she is conceding quite a lot of experience to some smart performers here.
Southern Vic, for instance, is high in the ante-post betting for the new three-mile novice hurdle at the festival and Augherskea represents some interesting form from behind Royal Paradise in the Deloitte 13 days ago.
That was something more like what Augherskea has been expected to do this season and it coincided with the return to form of some of Noel Meade's string. The trip and the ground will not be a problem and Augherskea can come out on top in that contest.
Central House is just preferred to Macs Gildorn in the Newlands Chase while the PJ Moriarty runner-up Well Presented can get the better of Healy's Pub in the Nas Na Riogh Novice Chase.
Clew Bay Cove left the form of his Downpatrick debut well behind when winning at Leopardstown and that rate of progression can see him double up in the last.
