RACING NEWS:ANDREW McNAMARA has teamed up with some of Ireland's top hurdlers already this season and the jockey gets the chance to add another star name to that list as he has been snapped up to ride Sublimity in tomorrow's WBX.com "Fighting Fifth" Hurdle at Wetherby.
The 2007 champion hurdler is one of just six declared runners for the £100,000 (€115,380) highlight which has been rescheduled to Wetherby following last weekend's Newcastle cancellation.
Sublimity will be joined by both Harper Valley and Beau Michael in a strong Irish challenge against the likely favourite Punjabi, who is to be ridden by Barry Geraghty. However, Noel Meade has decided to side-step the race with Harchibald and will instead aim his popular star at Cheltenham's Boylesports International.
McNamara is Sizing Europe's regular jockey and also partnered Catch Me to land last weekend's Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse. He gets his chance on Sublimity now in the continued absence of Philip Carberry through injury.
Trainer Robbie Hennessy had booked Davy Russell to replace Carberry at Newcastle last week but he explained yesterday: "Davy is in Navan on Saturday and can't get out of it so Andrew McNamara will ride. It is obviously not ideal having to bring the horse over twice in a week but he is in good form. He travels very well and doesn't take much out of himself."
Hennessy added: "I was happy going to Newcastle but I'm possibly a little more confident this week as I've got another gallop into him. He's a stuffy horse and needs lots of work.
"We shouldn't be too bad at Wetherby as the track looks straight-forward enough, not as stiff as Cheltenham. Tracks like Wetherby and Kempton are right up his alley. He is a flat horse so the easier the track the easier it is for him."
Noel Meade has decided to bypass the "Fighting Fifth" and will instead consider the Boylesports International (formerly the Bula) at Cheltenham in eight days time.
"I'd like to get a bit of work into him and we might just go for the Bula," said Meade of his star hurdler who won the race in 2005.
The home feature this weekend will be the John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown on Sunday where the Paul Nicholls-trained Noland and the former Gold Cup hero War Of Attrition are now sharing favouritism in some ante-post lists.
Noland and the other cross-channel raider The Listener were due to travel to Ireland yesterday and Nicholls said: "This race was always on the cards for Noland. It looks competitive but the ground won't affect him as it was the same when he won at Down Royal. Sam Thomas rides."
The going at Punchestown was officially heavy yesterday after 20mms of overnight rain.
That won't be a problem for Cane Brake in the Durkan and Tom Taaffe's former Cheltenham Gold Cup fifth has already been backed at fancy odds during this week.
"He had a problem after he ran in the Irish National but he seems to have found his form now," Taaffe said yesterday. "It's going to be difficult for him in handicaps so we will see how he gets on."
Taaffe also confirmed that the Boylesports Gold Cup at Cheltenham in eight days time is a likely target for his Jewson winner Finger Onthe Pulse.
"We were going to go to Newcastle but now that's off I would imagine we will go for the Boylesports," he said.
Ladbrokes bet: 5-2 War Of Attrition and Noland, 9-2 The Listener, 8 Mansony, 10 Watson Lake, 14 Snowy Morning, 16 bar.
