Rebel Fitz to run in first handicap over fences

Rebel Fitz has never run in a handicap over fences before but trainer Mick Winters is keen to allow his Grade One winning star an opportunity to defy top weight in next week's Guinness Kerry National.

The former Galway Hurdle hero returned to action with a second at Ballybrit during the summer and tops the 42 entries remaining in next Wednesday's €175,000 feature, the highlight of the famous Listowel festival.

“We’d love to go all guns blazing for the Kerry National as there’s great prize-money in all aspects, with plenty of place money, too,” Winters admitted although he did concede Rebel Fitz has an alternative festival possibility on the flat.

“He’s entered in the Kerry National and that’s the direction we’re heading at the moment. At this stage the ground won’t get enough rain to turn heavy but if it was too firm, he’d skip the Kerry National and wait instead for the Slan Abhaile,” he said.

Barry Geraghty has been Rebel Fitz's regular jockey over fences. Winters said the ride will be offered to Geraghty but if the jockey has other commitments, "we'll look to some of the jockeys that have ridden for us in the past two years".