Jollyallan gets the nod for Cheltenham

Jollyallan’s bold effort at Sandown on Saturday has left Harry Fry looking forward to pitching him into the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

The six-year-old secured a hat-trick of novice hurdle victories earlier in the season, but came up just short against seasoned handicapper Garde La Victoire last weekend in pursuit of the Contenders Hurdle.

Fry is hopeful that the experience from Sandown will give Jollyallan an extra edge when he goes into the opening race of the Cheltenham Festival next month.

He said in his blog for Stan James: “We just got out-battled after the last, but it was what we wanted to achieve in terms of getting more experience in him and coming up against a good campaigner like Garde La Victoire.

“Getting into a bit of a battle, whether it was lost or not, will hopefully make more of a man of him with bigger targets in mind.

“He lost a couple of lengths at the second last, but quickly came back on to almost lead at the last. In the ground, he just couldn’t pick up as much as he normally would.

“All being well we’re looking forward to running him on decent ground, hopefully at Cheltenham in the Supreme.”