Leading Irish trainer Gordon Elliott us very excited for next season when the JP McManus owned Andy Dufresne goes over fences as the highly touted star has not quite cut it this year over fences.
The six year old romped home in a point to point in March 2018 and was then bought £330,000 by McManus and was given to Gordon Elliott.
He then ran in January at Down Royal in a bumper and again bolted up looking like a horse for the future with guaranteed potential.
This season he has taken to hurdles and on his debut hacked up at Navan in a Maiden Hurdle showing the ability he possess but since then the bubble has slightly burst.
He stepped up to, two and a half miles and was outstayed by Latest Exhibition who has since gone on to land a Grade One and although getting back to winning ways next time out at Punchestown in the Grade Two Moscow Flyer he was poor again at the weekend.
He finished a weak third by his standards at Naas in another Grade Two and although he obviously has class about him it does not look to be at the level that his owner first thought.
With this in mind the six year old has not been entered at any race at the Cheltenham festival and will be kept over in Ireland but overall his trainer is very excited for what he can produce over the bigger obstacles.
(Credit At The Races) Elliott said: “I’m always disappointed when you get beaten, but he was giving away weight to everything.
“Mark (Walsh) said he hit a bit of a flat patch, but then he kept galloping and he couldn’t pull him up after the line.
“He’ll be a nice horse to go jumping fences. He’s only a shell of a horse.”