Jesse Evans and Sean Flanagan© Photo Healy Racing
John McConnell has confirmed that exciting Streets Of Doyen is all set for an Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle trial in Sunday’s feature Grade 2 Paddy Power Betting Shop Novice Hurdle (3.30pm) in which he will be joined by Noel Meade’s Jesse Evans.
This fellow ran in the top-class Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas, but came home almost 30 lengths adrift of major Irish Cheltenham fancy Appreciate It.
“I think, at the moment, Jesse Evans probably will run in the Paddy Power Betting Shop Novice Hurdle although I’d be a little concerned about very heavy ground - he’s a nice horse and he’ll be all right but very heavy might be a problem,” opined Meade.
“You’d have to say that he wasn’t up to it at Leopardstown, that’s what it looked like. This will give us an idea of where we are — the top-rated horse is 135 and other than him there’s nothing much rated higher than our horse and a couple with no rating so we’ll see where he fits in.
“We were a bit disappointed with what he did at Leopardstown, but it was Grade 1 company and that’s what can happen.”
The five-year-old, owned by Jack Singleton, was among the entries for today’s County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, but that race is no given.
Meade added: “He was entered in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, but we took him out — he’s entered in the County, but we’ll more likely stay at home.”
