Nolan keen to avoid Doctor Steinberg in Albert Bartlett

Paul Nolan will be an interested observer when Willie Mullins starts to finalise his Cheltenham plans.

Nolan’s novice Thedeviluno was a very impressive winner of the River Don at Doncaster, building on an improving record in Ireland.

The only horse to have beaten him this season is Mullins’ Doctor Steinberg at Navan. Mullins’ charge has since added a Grade One at the Dublin Racing Festival and is the only horse ahead of Nolan’s in the betting for the Albert Bartlett next month.

“I can’t see any reason why we’d change from the Albert Bartlett now he’s proved himself at three miles,” said Nolan.

“Obviously he’s very versatile because he beat a Grade One horse (Skylight Hustle) over two miles at Gowran in a maiden with The Passing Wife in third who has sluiced in since.

“He was then only a couple of lengths behind Doctor Steinberg over two and a half before he won over three, but there’s no doubt his best run was over three as he travelled so well.

“We’ll be hoping Doctor Steinberg goes in the Turners instead of the Albert Bartlett, but we’ll have to see about that.

“When he beat us Doctor Steinberg made all and got his own way, but the manner he won in Leopardstown was very impressive.

“There will be bigger fields this year with a lot of novices not qualified for handicaps, so it might be difficult to make all compared to small field novice races but we’ll see.”