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High hopes for Holywell

Holywell and Tony McCoy win the Betfred Mobile Mildmay Novices Chase at Aintree
Image: Holywell: Will start off at Carlisle

Jonjo O'Neill believes there are some similarities between his Cheltenham Gold Cup candidate Holywell and his previous race winner Synchronised.

The ill-fated Synchronised claimed the blue riband event for O'Neill in 2012 and the trainer, who also famously won the race as a jockey on Dawn Run, thinks the pair share some traits.

Holywell certainly has an affinity for Cheltenham having won at the past two Festivals and while those were both in handicap company, he handled the step up to Grade One company with aplomb at Aintree and is one of the favourites for the March showpiece.

"He's summered brilliantly and he's in great form. We schooled him the other morning and he's in great shape and jumped well,'' O'Neill told At The Races.

"He'll probably start off at Carlisle in the Colin Parker (November 2). He's not the biggest in the world and Carlisle is a grand jumping track, saying that, we went there last year thinking the same thing and he slipped into the second and didn't want to know after that. He's a little bit of a character really.

"I think he's a better horse in the spring so what we do up to Christmas might depend on how he gets on at Carlisle.

"He's a funny little devil and was the same over hurdles - he takes a while to get going. He finished second a few times over hurdles and kept going up the weights and I was thinking 'how am I going to win with him?'.

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"But he's tough, and when he's really hard fit in the spring he's a really tough nut to crack. I'm hoping he'll do the same in the spring this year and we can go for the Gold Cup.

"He surprised me big time at Aintree. He was in great form going there and put up a brilliant performance, you can't knock it. I'm just hoping that form stands up and he is a Gold Cup horse.

"He stays, he jumps pretty well when he's on fire, but his greatest asset is he stays well. When he sees that hill he's like a little tiger, he reminds me a little bit of Synchronised, when he runs at Cheltenham he has a right old go.''

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