Meade eager for Very Wood chase campaign

Noel Meade is looking forward to running his Cheltenham Festival winner Very Wood over fences next season despite a disappointing end to his stint over hurdles.

The County Meath trainer felt his Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle winner was unsuited by the slow pace when he was only sixth to Beat That in the Irish Daily Mirror Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on Wednesday.

Meade shrugged off that run in the three-mile Grade One and is now looking ahead to planning a novice chase campaign for the Gigginstown Stud-owned five-year-old.

“He’s fine. They just didn’t go enough of a gallop. They went too slow. That was no good to me, We wanted a fast gallop all the way and they didn’t do that,” said the County Meath trainer.

“He’s out to grass now and he’ll be jumping fences next season.”