Lexus Chase hero Synchronised remains firmly on course for a return to Leopardstown and a crack at next month’s Hennessy Gold Cup.
Many had last year’s Welsh National scorer down as mudlark prior to his run over the Festive period, but he handled the better ground to beat the likes of Rubi Light and Quito De La Roque comprehensively.
The Jonjo O’Neill-trained gelding will be back in Ireland for his next start on February 12 and Frank Berry, racing manager for owner JP McManus, is keen to see how he fares there before committing him to a run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
“All going well he’s going for the Irish Hennessy and he’s picked up well after his run at Christmas. Jonjo is very happy with him,” Berry said.
“We were delighted to see him handle the ground so well at Leopardstown. To be fair, he has looked a lot sharper this season than he has in the past. He looked a sharper horse on his first two runs of the season over hurdles.
“He’s in good order so we look forward to going for the Hennessy and we’ll get that out of the way before we make any other plans.”
