Messenger primed for AIG test

Noel Meade has warned that his stable stars Iktitaf and Harchibald are unlikely to run in the AIG Europe Champion Hurdle on Sunday week if the going remains heavy at Leopardstown.

However, the County Meath-based handler is expecting to be represented in the 150,000 event by Christmas Hurdle victor Jazz Messenger, regardless of what the weather does beforehand.

Meade held the seven-year-old in high regard last term and believes he is only now beginning to fulfil his true potential.

"I'm pretty certain Jazz Messenger will run," he said.

"We knew he wasn't far away as he was working well right up with the rest of them last season."

And of his other entrants, he added: "Everything has gone very well with Iktitaf and it's possible he'll run but the weather is the problem.

"I honestly think that if the ground is going to be heavy then Iktitaf is not going to run because he already has plenty of experience and we'd like to keep him as well as we possibly can for the Champion Hurdle.

"Harchibald is in great form at the moment and he's ready to run but there would just be no point in him running on heavy ground."