The one bonus of the nights drawing in and the days getting colder is that it means the National Hunt season is about to swing into action, and with it the return of some exciting prospects.
Noel Meade's Aran Concerto looked to have the potential to go to the very top when he was last seen on a racecourse at the Cheltenham Festival of 2007, but an injury kept him off the track for the whole of the last campaign.
However, he is ready to return soon with a novice chase campaign earmarked to begin at the end of October.
‘His preparation has been good so far,’ said Meade.
‘He schooled over 10 fences last week and that went well.
‘Everything is going good with him at the moment and I'd say he might be ready to run at the end of month if things keep going right. At the moment they are.
‘He's won on soft and I'd rather run him in that than on quick ground. He's a huge big horse with big feet so even though he's a beautiful mover he'd be happy enough on soft.
‘He's done really well for his time off and he looks great at the minute.
‘At this time of year we are keeping our fingers crossed for a few that everything keeps going right, but it's so far so good.’
