A pretty average card at Fairyhouse today is enhanced by the chasing debut of the remarkable Sallie's Girl in the Mulhuddart Novice Chase.

Noel Meade was not particularly impressed with this six-year-old mare when she began training, and he recommended that the owner take her home. Rarely can Meade have been so pleased to have persevered.

Sallie's Girl's improvement last season was stunning. She picked up six races when the mud clung and the distances of her races increased and ended up finishing less than 10 lengths off Anzum and Le Coudray at the end of the Cheltenham Stayers Hurdle.

Sallie's Girl may like the ground even softer than the officially predicted "yielding to soft" but the three miles and a furlong of today's race should bring her stamina into play.

If jumping even adequately, she can overcome her lack of comparative experience with the Gowran scorer The Dell and Rushing Waters who ran a fine third for a 50 to 1 shot behind Saxophone and Generosa at Galway.

Meade and Paul Carberry are also sure to be fancied in the 21/2 mile maiden hurdle with the French export Oa Baldixe. This one arrived here last winter with a big reputation but seemed to be totally unsuited to very soft ground on his debut at Leopardstown in January.

It has to be said Oa Baldixie didn't jump particularly well either and while that too could be because of the going, it won't be anything like fast today either. Maybe the Cork and Galway runner up Senorita Bonita, in receipt of almost a stone, could be a value alternative.

The nap however goes to Reggae Rhythm, racing in the colours of Chris De Burgh, in the novice handicap hurdle.

This horse pulled like a train in the early stages of a race at Gowran last month but still had too much pace for Karakam and he also ran blinder to China Tealeaf in a hard run flat race at the Curragh last Friday. Given an evenly run race today, Reggae Rhythm is taken to have too much finishing toe for Genomic and Thursday's Punchestown scorer Leader-man.

Bumper winner Ray Lord can make bottom-weight tell in the Warrenstown Handicap.