Valley off to Wetherby

Gordon Elliott intends to take up the opportunity of another crack at the WBX.com “Fighting Fifth” Hurdle this weekend with Harper Valley.

The Co Meath trainer took his four-year-old over to Newcastle for last Saturday’s Grade One before it was abandoned due to frost and after returning to Ireland that evening, he is preparing to travel over to the rescheduled running of the race at Wetherby.

Elliott does not expect Harper Valley to be good enough to beat Punjabi or Sublimity but he does have some fair form in the book including a defeat of Franchoek this time last year and a third, albeit well-beaten, to Binocular and Celestial Halo at Aintree.

“He’ll come over again at the weekend,” said Elliott.

“We got him back at eight o’clock on Saturday night and we just need to do a bit of work with him this week, but he seems to be well.

“It’s a hard race but he deserves a chance and I’d be happy enough if he could finish in the first four.”