Three impressive Irish novice hurdle winners this season from under-the-radar yards The National Hunt season is starting to really motor now, with major festive action in clearsight and the countdown to the big spring festivals starting to ramp up. Ahead of the busy Christmas racing programme, we've picked out a trio of Irish novice hurdle winners from this season that caught the eye for some yards not laced with superstars. I'll Sort That Declan Queally appears to have a useful proposition on his hands with I'll Sort That. The five-year-old gelding won two bumpers in the early part of the year at Fairyhouse and Naas and was then second to Sortudo at the former venue in April - that Willie Mullins-trained inmate looks very promising following his winning hurdles bow at Cork in November. I'll Sort That, meanwhile, is now 3-3 over timber himself. He won his maiden at Listowel during the Harvest Festival in September in wide-margin fashion and has since added novice events at Galway (2m41/2f) good to yielding) and Navan (2m, soft to heavy) in successive months. He justified 6/4 favouritism in the Grade 3 Bar One Racing For Auction Novice Hurdle last time out with the Gordon Elliott-trained Theflyingking back in second spot. He didn't jump with complete fluency and had every right to fold when making a mistake at the last but he showed real guts to come back and land the prize. He has a habit of racing a bit keenly and his trainer/jockey will be determined to get him some experience racing amongst rivals soon. "He probably didn't jump as well as he did at Galway, but he still got a lovely spin throughout," said Queally at Navan. "He missed the last a little bit, but he has some guts in fairness to him and that is a big thing in a horse." I'll Sort That has earned quotes of 25/1 for the Turners Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. William Tell Trainer Harry Kelly is based in Fethard in Co Tipperary where he manages a small team of horses and Thurles novice scorer William Tell could be the standard-bearer for his operation this season. The Malinas gelding didn't achieve much in a trio of point-to-point runs, but he immediately stepped forward when second in a Cork maiden hurdle in July and he went one place better at the Mallow venue in August over 2m21/2f on good ground. He was easy to back on his debut in novice company at Thurles in November, stepping up to an extended trip of 2m6½f and moved strongly throughout that contest and fended off the attentions of Heron's Butler to win under Cian Quirke. He has the scope to make a chaser in the future but, for now, novice handicaps over staying trips are perhaps lurking for him next. Welluknow Another promising novice winner to emerge from the Premier County was Welluknow for Ballycahill-based handler Mark Molloy. The home-bred son of Ol' Man River has suffered some setbacks last season but is now making some progress. He was third behind County Final at Navan in a maiden in September and then filled the same berth as Middleton Rare scored at Limerick in October. His first success came in game fashion when dropped to 2m on heavy going at Gowran Park in November, Daniel King's partner just getting there in the nick of time to deny Kentucky Beach. He looks sure to step back up in trip and his ability to handle dig in the ground could see him turning up back around Limerick over Christmas, with his trainer suggesting the 'big baby' has the potential to become a nice horse.
