Trainer Paul Nicholls expects Cyrname to be a leading contender in both the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup this season.
The impressive eight-year-old finished second in the King George VI at Kempton last December, but he was well behind stablemate Clan Des Obeaux, who won the race for the second year in a row.
That result left many people doubting whether Cyrname could go the distance over three miles, but he went some way to proving his doubters wrong with a victory on his seasonal reappearance in the Grade Two Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby last month.
Nicholls certainly believes Cyrname is ready to deliver on the big stage and he has confirmed he is targeting the Johnny de la Hey-owned gelding at the Boxing Day showpiece from Kempton, as well as the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
“Cyrname will be a different horse going into the race (King George) this year (to what) he was last year,” Nicholls was quoted as saying by Racing TV. “He will almost certainly go down the Gold Cup route after that.
“We go into the race full of optimism that we have got him really right this time.”
