Romeo Coolio "looks fantastic" and will be aimed at the King George VI Chase at Kempton, says his trainer Gordon Elliott.
The seven-year-old was a revelation after being switched to fences last season, winning four of his five starts, including a hat-trick of Grade 1 successes.
Victory at the Dublin Racing Festival saw connections roll the dice and pitch him into the Brown Advisory at the Cheltenham Festival where a long campaign proved too much for the son of Kayf Tara to handle, eventually pulling up after a string of jumping errors.
However, after undergoing an operation for a problem with his back, Elliott has his star gelding back in training and has high hopes for the upcoming National Hunt season.
Romeo Coolio started off his fencing career with victory at Down Royal and it appears that Elliott is plotting a very similar path to begin with this time around, telling the Racing Post: "Romeo Coolio is back in with us and looks fantastic. He's actually had an operation for kissing spines in his back over the summer so it's great to get that all sorted.
"The plan is very much Down Royal for him – that's where we're aiming. He has the option of the Champion Chase over three miles, or the Grade 2 chase for second-season novices over two and a half miles, the race that Firefox won last year.
"We'll make a call on that nearer the time, but he looks great and seems to be full of himself."
All being well, Romeo Coolio will then be primed for a run in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. One of the highlights of the season, it has been won by the likes of Best Mate, Kauto Star and Cue Card this century and the most recent renewal went the way of subsequent Gold Cup champion Gaelic Warrior.
Currently 25/1 for the race, the test that the Christmas showpiece generally poses should, in theory, be suited to his skillset. Despite not performing to his best on his only start at three miles so far, the extra distance should be no issue for him and he has already proven his liking for decent ground and a right-handed track.
Given the owners' self-confessed love for the Cheltenham Festival, if he were to be successful in the King George, then the Gold Cup would look the obvious target. Prior to his blunder at the Festival in March, Romeo Coolio had finished second and third in two trips to Prestbury Park, appearing to relish the unique challenges that the track can pose.
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
