Trainer Hughie Morrison looks set for a Cheltenham return with Not So Sleepy after his win at Ascot on Saturday.
The eight-year-old will now be targeted at the Unibet Champion Hurdle after he recorded back-to-back wins in the £100,000 Betfair Exchange Trophy.
Twelve months after his win at Ascot, Morrison’s charge held off Buzz, despite carrying 15lbs extra than his previous success at the famous track.
At the end of November, he unseated Paddy Brennan in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle, but he showed his class when landing the spoils at Ascot this weekend.
On his last run in the Champion Hurdle, Not So Sleepy was pulled up as Epatante won, but Morrison says he continues to surprise him and the plan is to return to Prestbury Park in March.
He told the Racing Post: “He’s an absolute star and has actually been well behaved since he went to Newcastle. He’s been more amenable, and we’ve even got him on the grass gallops twice without him throwing himself on the ground.
“I get a huge kick out of training him, and not many jumpers are homebreds; he didn’t cost £575,000 as a point-to-pointer! He’s a homebred who’s been through the mill ? what did he have today, 15lb more than last year?
“I don’t think he’s quirky and when he’s right he’s very good, but when he’s not right, he just thinks, ‘Sod it’. I think what happened at Newcastle was unfortunate, but maybe it helped us.”
