Jonjo O’Neill looking forward to playing novice aces over Christmas

Jonjo and A J O’Neill will send two of their brightest prospects into Grade One company over the Christmas period, with both Bill Joyce and Roadlesstravelled aiming to back up the early impression they have made over hurdles.

Bill Joyce was an impressive winner of the Grade Two Winter Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown from the highly-regarded Quebecois. He will now head to Newbury on December 28 for the Coral Challow Hurdle.

“Bill Joyce won well the other day and we’re thinking of the Challow with him,” said Jonjo O’Neill.

“He’s earned the step up, we might as well have a go now and see where we are going with him.

“He coped with the testing ground at Sandown, but the good thing about him is that we don’t really know a lot about him yet, we haven’t worked out quite what his best conditions might be – that’s quite a nice thing, really.

“So we’ll throw him in at the deep end and see where we are going.”

Roadlesstravelled has been doing his winning over two miles and landed a Grade Two at Haydock most recently.

Behind him that day was Dan Skelton’s Country Mile, who has subsequently boosted the form emphatically at Cheltenham. But O’Neill is not getting too carried away.

He is set to be in action Aintree on Boxing Day in the Formby Novices’ Hurdle (formerly the Tolworth).

“Roadlesstravelled looks a bit sharper and he’ll go to Aintree on Boxing Day as long as the ground is not too bad,” said O’Neill.

“His form was boosted the other day, but I’m just not sure about that race, as the leader went very quick.

“But listen, I hope it’s as good as it looked as we were put up 3lb by the handicapper because of it!”