Queally taking direct route to Cheltenham with I’ll Sort That

Declan Queally has confirmed his intention to head straight to the Cheltenham Festival with I’ll Sort That following his Grade One breakthrough at Naas.

The six-year-old has won his four of his five outings over obstacles, most recently making much of the running in the Ballymore Novice Hurdle to provide his trainer and amateur rider with a first top-level success.

I’ll Sort That holds an entry in the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival on Saturday week, but Queally is keen to keep his powder dry for a trip to Prestbury Park in March.

“He came out of Naas great, he’s in great form,” he said on Tuesday.

“We’ll probably skip the DRF and concentrate on Cheltenham, I’d say.”

Queally has entered his in stable star in the two-mile-five-furlong Turners Novices’ Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett over three miles at Cheltenham and a decision on which race he will ultimately contest is unlikely to be made until much nearer the time.

Queally added: “Fingers crossed he has a trouble-free passage and gets there in one piece.

“He does stay well, but he’s very versatile. If you go back and look at his win at Listowel, he showed an unbelievable amount of speed the whole way over two miles, so I don’t think trip matters.

“There’s still a long way to go and we need a bit of luck, but he’s in good shape at the moment anyway.”