Gold Cup option open for dual Cheltenham winner The Real Whacker

Connections of dual course winner The Real Whacker have not ruled out aiming the talented novice at the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The seven-year-old won a novice chase at Cheltenham in November and beat Grade 1 winner Monmiral by three and a quarter lengths in this month's Grade 2 Dipper Novices' Chase for trainer Patrick Neville.

He will head straight to the festival and is most likely to be aimed at the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase, for which he is as short as 7-1, while he was also among 27 entries for the Gold Cup on Tuesday.

"He came out of the race well and we'll go back again in March," said Neville. "It was a great feeling to take on the bigger yards and his jumping was outstanding on only his second run over fences. He seems to love it at Cheltenham and we hope he can improve again.

"He'll have three options at the festival. The Gold Cup will probably break up a bit so we're going to wait and see, but the most realistic one to go for this season would probably be the Brown Advisory."

David Mann (left) with The Real Whacker and trainer Patrick NevilleCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Neville spent almost two years as assistant trainer to Ann Duffield and was a key player in N'Golo's Swinton Hurdle success in May. The trainer has two winners in his own name since taking out his licence in November and is planning to send a small team to Cheltenham.

He could be represented by The Wounded Knee in the Ballymore after he finished runner-up at the track in October and Ganapathi, who chased home Nube Negra in the Shloer Chase.

The trainer held a licence in Ireland for 15 years and most notably won Grade 3 and Listed prizes with novice hurdler Macville in 2010.

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