Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka have high hopes for Fairyhouse
Harry Derham is hoping to see Givemefive give a good account when he travels to Ireland for the WillowWarm Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Saturday.
The four-year-old has won three of his five starts over obstacles for his owner Smash Racing, a syndicate that includes Major-winning golfers Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka.
He could only finishing fourth behind the reopposing Bottler'secret in a Grade Two event at Fairyhouse in the spring, but turned the tables on that rival when providing Derham with his first Cheltenham winner as a trainer in the Masterson Holdings Hurdle in late October.
Givemefive has plenty on his plate as he heads back across the Irish Sea, with Gavin Cromwell’s Bottler’secret part of a home defence that also includes Gordon Elliott’s pair of Kala Conti and the unbeaten Wodhooh, as well as the Willie Mullins-trained French recruit Anzadam.
Derham, though, is up for the challenge.
"He’s not the easiest horse to place now, but we just want to save him for handicaps in the new year so this is the only four-year-old race he can run in," said the Boxford-based trainer.
"He’s in good form and I’m pleased with the dry forecast for him, he’ll like the nice ground. I would like to think he will run a nice race, but it will be a tough task as he has to give weight to some quite nice horses, but we do think he’ll run well.
"It’s been a great journey with him and Graeme in particular has absolutely loved it and has been really engaged in the ownership journey. We’d like to think the horse is not done yet."
Derham’s charge is joined on the trip from Britain by Harriet Dickin’s Dodger Long, who split Givemefive and Bottler’secret when picking up the silver medal at Cheltenham’s Showcase meeting.
Dickin said: "We’re really