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Daragh Nolan, 26 Apr
Despite plying his early trade among the flat racers of the Irish
racing scene, Noel Meade would come to be known as one of the most
successful national hunt trainers in the country and a seven-time Irish
Champion Trainer.
Before all that, Noel was a young race-goer like the rest of us and can
still remember his first trip out towards Eadestown in the early 1960s.
“The first time I went to Punchestown I went with an uncle of mine
because everyone else in my family hadn’t much interest in racing. My
uncle Tom Halpin who was very keen on racing, used to bring me and his
son James,” Noel recalled.
Not doing much betting at the time as Noel and James were little more
than 10 years old, late controversy in the final race at Punchestown
gave the two young punters a win for themselves.
“There was a photo-finish in the last race and the horse that got the
race wasn’t the one that was favourite. When we were coming out we
picked up winning tickets off the ground. Tote tickets so that was my
first memory of Punchestown,” he laughed.
Finding winners would never come as easy as picking them off the floor
but Noel would certainly have plenty more in Punchestown. Not just any
old ones either as Noel registered his first Grade 1 success in 1985
with a horse that would get over the line twice on festival week.
“The first Grade 1 I had at the festival…Atherstone won on the Tuesday
of the festival in a novice handicap and then we ran him again on day
three for the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle and he won there again.
That was one of the few Grade 1’s that was in Punchestown at the time.
It wasn’t like what it is now,” Noel said.
As alluded to above, Punchestown was a very different festival than the
one that tens of thousands will flock to in the coming weeks. The
glamorous fashion and Grade 1 racing were far more scarce in those days
and few have seen more of its evolution than the Meath trainer.
“When they overhauled the festival, it used to be three-days and very
much handicap races. The Punchestown Gold Cup may even have been a
handicap at that time. When they developed it and introduced the Grade
1’s it changed the whole scenario of the place,” Noel explained.
“Most of the races were maiden or handicaps, not the standard we’re at
now.”
Punchestown has become the place to be for national hunt trainers when
festival time rolls around in April as some of the stars of Cheltenham
make their way onto Irish soil.
“If you are training jumping horses in Ireland, the places you want to
be are Leopardstown at Christmas, Fairyhouse and Punchestown.
Punchestown has grown into our championships. To have winners at those
places is what you want to do, that is what your season is about, to
have something good enough to win those championship races,” Noel said.
Noel has had plenty of those wins over the years on the grounds of
Punchestown across Champion Chase and Champion Novice Hurdle victories.
When exploring Noel’s success stories you see the intrinsic links
between himself and the Carberry family. And different generations of
it as Noel teamed up with old friend Tommy for many years as well as
having his children Paul and Nina ride for Tu Va Stables.
“From very early on, I was great with Tommy and he rode winners for me,
we always enjoyed sharing a drink. Paul started off with Jim Bolger and
that didn’t work out and Tommy informed me so I said he could come down
with me,” Noel explained.
“He was a very very good flat jockey but all he ever wanted to do was
be a jump jockey. From there, other than two years in England with
Robert Ogden he spent the rest of his riding career with me.”
“We had ups and downs but we are still very good friends and meet up
every now and again.”
Noel had great things to say about all his relationships within the
national hunt jockey family but his voice rose up a level when talking
about one particular member of the Carberry’s however.
“Then of course Nina came along, she became my racing assistant in 2013
and then she was Champion Lady rider I would say nearly every year she
was with us. She was with me up until she went down to Aidan (O’Brien)
one summer and he stole her off me,” Noel said.
“She was supposed to go to Aidan for a month in the summer time and of
course Aidan realised what he had and the next thing he offered so much
that she had to stay.”
The latter part of the glowing endorsement was said with an indefinite
mournful sigh as Noel remembered losing the star in the making that
Nina was.
“Nina was and is an unbelievable person. She is so dedicated to
whatever she does. If Nina was painting windows, they would be done
properly, everything she does is done to perfection. When she works,
she throws her heart and soul into it.”
“If Paul had the same application they would be talking about him for
the rest of the century…but he didn't unfortunately. But she was
phenomenal, the way she handled herself and was dedicated to what she
did. She never left any stone unturned in her pursuit to be the best.
“They were the two I spent the most time with and we had great times
together.”