Noel Meade: beating Willie and Gordon is very difficult, they're phenomenal

Noel Meade has described Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins as "phenomenal" trainers and said the daunting task of taking them on every day of the week is extremely difficult, but he fancies his chances of causing an upset in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase with Tout Est Permis.

The seven-time champion trainer was talking via Zoom as part of Horse Racing Ireland's launch of the jumps season, and he spoke about the daily ritual of taking on the superpowers of Irish jumping.

Meade said: "I've said all along that training horses is not the most difficult part of the game, the most difficult part is getting the horses. It’s a bit like being a jockey. If you’re riding for Willie Mullins or Gordon Elliott, you have a better chance of being champion jockey at the moment because they have the horses.

"Usually what happens is the people who win in the sales rings will end up winning on the track. That said, the reason they win in the sales ring is because they’re successful on the track.

"I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who has been as good a trainer as Willie Mullins. To me, he’s doing things with horses even the great Vincent O’Brien would struggle with. He’s a phenomenal trainer.

"Gordon has been phenomenal since he started and I’m fortunate to be able to call the two of them my friends. All they want to do is win, win, win, and I suppose that’s what you have to be when you’re trying to win a championship. To beat them is very, very difficult."

Trying to take down Delta Work and Presenting Percy in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase is certainly going to be very difficult, but Meade thinks Tout Est Permis could produce a career-best in the first Grade 1 of the season at Down Royal on Saturday, when he is also set to run Snow Falcon.

Noel Meade and Sean Flanagan with Snow FalconCredit: Caroline Norris

"Snow Falcon and Tout Est Permis are both likely to run," Meade said. "They both worked this morning and I think both will run. Snow Falcon is getting on in years, but he did work well.

"Maybe those younger fellows coming along will be hard to beat, but he’s in good form and we purposely kept him fresh for this because he does run well fresh and we felt he’d give him his best chance in it by doing that.

"And the other horse [Tout Est Permis] worked really, really well. I think he has come on a ton for his run at Punchestown [behind The Storyteller] and he's in good shape. I think he's got a big run in him, I really do."

Road To Respect has won Saturday's big race for the last two years, but he will not be able to bid for the hat-trick as an injury picked up in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown in February has ruled him out. Indeed, Meade is not sure whether we will see him this season or not.

Meade said: "Road To Respect is not yet back in training. We would hope he will be back in the next month or so and might be able to run again in the spring but until we have him back we really won’t know if he’s going to be back this season or not."

Ladbrokes Champion Chase
Ladbrokes: 11-8 Delta Work, 5-2 Presenting Percy, 3 Chris's Dream, 6 The Storyteller, 14 Snow Falcon, 20 Tout Est Permis, 25 bar

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Down Royal Saturday entries

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