McConnell eyes fences for Bardenstown Lad John McConnell's Bardenstown Lad is set for a break before being switched to fences. The seven-year-old gelding won four times over hurdles and was a more than creditable third at 20/1 in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival behind The Nice Guy and Minella Cocooner. He came back for more against the same rivals in the Grade 1 novice hurdle at Punchestown but departed early at the second flight. "He was sore the next day after he fell, he's fine," the trainer said. "He'll go out on a break maybe four to six weeks, and we'll bring him back and maybe go for a beginners' chase in Galway with him. "We'll go down that route with him, he'll be a lovely chaser. He's the sort of horse that jumps his hurdles quite big normally, apart from the other day, and he might be a better chaser so he's exciting. "He has been a good horse - the first and second in the Albert Bartlett were first and second the other day (in Punchestown) and he would have been bang there." Bardenstown Lad also has a point-to-point victory and a bumper success in his locker.
