Trainer Polly Gundry says Santini is likely to be given another go in the Cheltenham Gold Cup after finishing second in the Cotswolds Chase on Saturday.

The 10-year-old finished two-and-a-quarter lengths behind Chantry House at Prestbury Park as he stepped up Cheltenham Festival preparations with the Grade Two run. 

It was his second run of the season following his summer break, returning to action in December with a fourth-place finish in the Betfair Handicap Chase, also at Cheltenham. 

Previously, he has run twice in the Gold Cup — the big feature race of the entire festival — and he has had mixed fortunes. 

In 2020, he was agonisingly beaten by a neck under Nico de Boinville, with Al Boum Photo taking the spoils that day. Last year, he failed to finish the race, pulling up on the 12th hurdle.

Owned by Richard Kelvin-Hughes, the experienced charge is looking to make it third time lucky in the Gold Cup. 

Gundry is confident he can perform well and was pleased with his display on Saturday and how he emerged from the three-mile race. 

She said: "He seems to have come out of it fine and hopefully we'll go forward again. 

"I was really pleased that he seemed to enjoy himself. Nick [Scholfield] got a great tune out of him and he'll tighten up again. I'm pleased with the direction we're going in. 

"I think we're keen to have a crack at the Gold Cup. Richard Kelvin-Hughes is very happy to do that and I can't see another race that looks a sensible option. 

"We entered him for the Stayers' Hurdle, but I think we'll probably scratch him out of that this week. He might have an entry in the Grand National, we'll see." 

Currently, the ante-post favourite for the Gold Cup is A Plus Tard, who finished second in last year's race but followed that up with success in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November. 

Galvin is also in the mix — he defeated A Plus Tard by a shoulder in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown over the Christmas period. 

Minella Indo will seek to make it back-to-back successes in the Gold Cup for trainer Henry De Bromhead.