Crock of gold at the end of the Rainbow

WHILE trainer Noel Meade basked in the glory following More Rainbows’ Galway Hurdle win and the Neighbours Racing Club soaked up their €115,000 first prize, the vicissitudes of the racing game were reflected in the features of Wexford handler Paul Nolan.

Nolan sent three charges to the start, including the champion and red hot 2/1 favourite Cloone River, as well as his Cheltenham stars Accordion Etoile and Dabiroun, but the stable's pre-race optimism was shattered by a "pearler" of a fall to the market leader.

Meade had been mob-handed in a race he won twice early in his career with Pinch Hitter and finished second on several other occasions since, but even if More Rainbows was not the best supported of his four runners, it did not deter traditionally ribald celebrations in the winner's enclosure.