Barry Connell hasn't ruled out supplementing his progressive chaser Foxrock into next month's Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Foxrock ran the race of his life to finish runner up to Carlingford Lough in Sunday’s Hennessy at Leopardstown and despite not holding a Gold Cup entry his owner hasn’t ruled him out of an appearance in Cheltenham’s blue-riband.

“We have three weeks to decide whether to supplement or not. We’ll see how he comes out of this first and then make a decision in about a fortnight,” Connell said.

“We’ll keep an open mind. In an ideal world you’d go next year when he is eight, but it’s a nice dilemma to have,” he added.

Foxrock failed by just three parts of a length to hold off Carlingford Lough in the closing stages at the weekend and Connell reported: “We were very happy with him. It was a super run, his jumping is very good now and he battled away all the way to the line.”

He added: “He’s got all the attributes of a three-mile chaser. I just think with Carlingford Lough being two years older, he just had that bit more experience and was battled hardened. Our lad was staying on again at the finish.

“He’s progressing with every run and he’s bridged the gap from handicaps to Grade Ones quickly, like Road To Riches has done. The division is open. I think the novices coming through from last year have proved that.”