Few  would be surprised if Noel Meade's love affair with the Cheltenham Festival had turned sour and he had filed for divorce long ago. Four wins are outnumbered by a list of defeats, some of them crushing. But if you have to feel real pain to truly appreciate ultimate happiness, the Co Meath trainer could experience a legal high to catapult him over the grandstand if Road To Riches wins the Gold Cup on Friday. Road to Riches (right), ridden by Bryan Cooper, jumps the last to win The Lexus Steeplechase in December . Trainer Noel Meade has high hopes for Road To Riches in the Cheltenham Gold Cup . The winner of the Lexus Chase, who will be ridden by Bryan Cooper, is one of 18 remaining. He may have lost his place as shortest-priced Irish contender – that now is well-backed Willie Mullins-trained Djakadam - but Meade's hope is arguably the form horse from across the water. Few would have even dreamt of a Gold Cup challenge when the eight-year-old landed the Galway Plate in August. Back then he was a promising gelding beginning to bounce back from a disappointing slump thanks to a change in his diet and work routine. His only defeat since – behind Sizing Europe over two and a half miles at Gowran Park in October – came in a race that had not been on his original schedule and was a mistaken afterthought. When the gelding, owned by Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, landed the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas, defeating 2014 Gold Cup runner-up On His Own and AP McCoy's Gold Cup mount Carlingford Lough, hopes were raised that Meade might finally secure the feature Festival prize he craves. Bryan Cooper celebrates after riding Road to Riches to victory at the 2014 Leopardstown Christmas Festival . Meade celebrates after Road To Riches win the Galway Plate, ridden by Shane Shortfall (right) Meade, the seven-time Irish champion trainer who started training in 1970, saddled Harbour Pilot to twice finish third in the Gold Cup behind Best Mate. He said: 'Anyone who trains a jumping horse wants to win the Gold Cup. I would rather win one Gold Cup than 10 Grand Nationals. To me that is just an ordinary race compared to the Gold Cup. 'The Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle, they are the two cherries.' The latter race was a 'cherry' that was picked out of Meade's back pocket in 2005 when Harchibald cruised up to Hardy Eustace with long-time jockey ally Paul Carberry sitting motionless. It looked done and dusted until, in a dramatic final 50 yards, the rallying reigning champion trained by the late Dessie Hughes got his head back in front. It was a result as tough to take for Meade as the short-head 1998 Arkle Chase defeat of Hill Society by Martin Pipe's Champleve when he was still searching for his first Festival winner. Meade-trained Harbour Pilot (right) twice finished third behind Best Mate in the Gold Cup . Harchibald's (left) capitulation to Hardy Eustace in the 2005 Champio Hurdle was hard to take for Meade . Meade said: 'Harchie was the one that hurt the most. He was going to win and then didn't. I was watching with Dessie and he was nearly congratulating me. He had his hand on my shoulder and then, the next moment, it was just like someone had pulled a trap door from underneath me. 'Hill Society was also tough. Martin came over and said I am sure you have won but, luckily, Richard Dunwoody had ridden mine and said he thought we were beat. But the photo-finish went on for so long. 'When they called the result, I walked straight out and went back to the car park. 'I talked to the attendant for half an hour about the joys of parking cars at Cheltenham. It just me got away from the whole thing.' The disappointments meant Meade became used to a familiar refrain before each Festival. The trainer said: 'The same thing would start. 'Noel Meade has never had a winner' and at Cheltenham previews some fella in the audience would start getting on to you. You'd say it didn't bother you but of course it did.' Meade finally scored a Cheltenham winner with Sausalito Bay's victory in the 2000 Novice's Hurdle . When Sausalito Bay finally cracked the Festival for Meade, he knelt down and kissed the turf in the winner's enclosure that had eluded him . It is where he would love to be again and the trainer, who was hit hard by the recession, seeing his string half in number from a high of 150 horses, reckons he is bringing one of his strongest ever teams. There is Wounded Warrior in Monday's National Hunt Chase, Very Wood, winner of last year's Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, in Wednesday's RSA Chase and Apache Stronghold, the 'big white hope' and rated a future Gold Cup contender, in Thursday's JLT Novices' Chase. But it is Gold that Meade seeks most and he reckons he might be on the right road. 'Favourite Silviniaco Conti is the form horse but I don't think there is an awful lot between the Irish,' he said. 'My horse lost his way as a novice but we always thought stamina would be his forte and no horse was staying on better in the Lexus.'
Road To Riches will be competing for the Gold Cup at Cheltenham . Trainer Noel Meade has four Festival wins and many more defeats . Victory for the Lexus Chase winner would erase near misses including Harchibald and Harbour Pilot .