Jonjo and AJ O'Neill 'looking forward to going back racing' after three-week spell without a runner

Jonjo and AJ O'Neill are hoping normal service is about to resume as they prepare to send out their first runner for three weeks.

The joint-trainers stopped sending horses to the races as they were not happy with how they were performing. By the time they had pulled the plug, the yard had sent out one winner from 28 races in November – a month in which it won 15 last year.

But they are happier now with the health of the string and have declared Sugar Road for a maiden hurdle at Southwell (2.22) on Tuesday.

"We're looking forward to it," said AJ O'Neill, who joined the licence at Jackdaws Castle in Gloucestershire at the start of the 2024-25 campaign.

AJ O'Neill: looking forward to ending a frustrating spell without a runner Credit: Alisha Meeder

"They all seem to be in good form so hopefully we can come back a bit stronger than we left off and go from there."

Expanding on what had been ailing the horses, he said: "It was nothing too dramatic, which is good. They just had a bit of a cold on them, the same as a common cold for a person I suppose. You just have to give them a bit of time and hopefully they'll come right.

"It's just one of those things and we're looking forward to getting back to going racing and having some runners."

Sugar Road, a maiden on the Flat for Andrew Balding, finished fourth on his hurdling debut at Ludlow in October.

O'Neill said: "He ran a nice enough race first time. His jumping was probably a bit novicey, so we hope he's learned a bit and can keep progressing."

But stablemate Johnnywho will miss Saturday's Becher Chase at Aintree, for which he was ante-post favourite after his comeback fifth in the Grand Sefton Chase over the Grand National fences last month.

Johnnywho: set to run at Cheltenham rather than AintreeCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

"He runs instead in the three-mile-two chase at Cheltenham the following Friday," said O'Neill.

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