The enigma that is Noel Meade

I know I'm not the only person on here to question him as a trainer but what does he have on all the top owners to keep horses with him given his record in recent years. O'Leary, JP  etc all have expensive horses with him and he has given them no returns to speak of. Today for example, he sent over a horse  of JP's over to Newbury off the track for a year and with questionable formlines and as sure as night follows day, he's tailed off. What is the point? All his top horses seem to have got injured in recent years. Go Native looked a right top notcher at his best, who knows what he would have achieved with a half decent trainer. The decision to appoint Sean Flanagan as stable jockey beggers belief also. He' probably a nice fellow and decent jock in his own right but compared to what the other big stable's have at their disposal, he wouldn't hold a candle. He could hardly get a ride in a donkey derby a few years ago.

To put his recent record in context, he has had as many Cheltenham winners in the last 20 years as Tom Cooper who I would guess has sent over a tenth of the amount of runners he has sent to Prestbury Park. I see Johnny Ward put up Road to Riches as a bet for the big race tomorrow but he looks like he will follow in a long line of horses who look good at one stage of their career but eventually fall away quiet tamely.