Gordon Elliott hoping conceding DRF battle will help him win Cheltenham war
POURING IT ON: Stayers' Hurdle favoutite Teahupoo gets washed down after morning exercise on Monday. Picture: Healy Racing
Prior to the Dublin Racing Festival, it was clear that the intent from Gordon Elliott was to focus his team on the Cheltenham Festival. The Leopardstown event wasn’t entirely forsaken, but as part of the ongoing assessment of priorities for the season, he viewed it as more beneficial to his charges to look beyond the Irish festival with the Prestbury Park meeting in mind.
That weekend belonged to Willie Mullins and his team, but hopes are high that Elliott’s decision will reap reward by being much more competitive when the two battalions renew rivalry across the water.
"Yes, we didn't make any secret of that,” said Elliott, acknowledging his DRF decision. “A couple of horses weren't right, a couple of horses we felt would be better skipping it. We just took a pull with it ahead of Cheltenham. We knew going into the meeting it was going to be tough. To be honest, people don't realise how tough racing is in Ireland every day of the week."
While he feels he may not have many of the big names going into the Festival, he is confident his challenge will be significant and his chances numerous.
“We're probably not as strong on standout horses but have loads of chances. We had three winners last year and were probably unlucky not to have six or seven, having been beaten by small margins with a few of them."
With such large numbers to go on the lorries, there will be choices to be made for his stable jockey, Jack Kennedy, and while Elliott isn’t entirely sure that the rider’s choice of mount will be in line with what he thinks, he is utterly confident Kennedy is the best person for the job of providing those Cullentra winners.
“He’s not the best judge of all times, but in my mind he’s the best jockey riding on either side of the Irish Sea. He’s different class. He’s a nice fella, too, and anything he gets, he deserves. There’s no angle to him.
“He’s our first jockey and has the choice of whatever he wants to ride, but he has a couple of tough decisions to make. I don’t lean him, whatsoever. I let him pick them himself and then I might have my opinion, but I let him make his decisions.”
“He’s in good form ahead of the Gold Cup. I think Galopin Des Champs has been awesome this year. I don’t know how we’re going to beat him, but we’re better than we were in Leopardstown the last day. For me, he didn’t run his race that day. He wouldn’t have been second in another hundred yards. I think the better the ground, the better the chance he has. He’s in great form. He’s not flashy, but he looks great and he’s in great form. Jack said that, on the day in Leopardstown, the ground was bad enough down the back and he didn’t feel like he was in love with it.”
“Mares’ Novice Hurdle. She does her own talking. We think she’s very good. Shane McCann rides her every day. He’s as good a judge as we have here, and he says she could be as good as we’ve had here. She’s going the right way, knows how to win, has got a good attitude, is not flashy, but we like what she does. She pleases the whole time. I remember, even when she won her four-year-old bumper, she did a bit of work a couple of weeks before it. We didn’t even know we really had her (until then), but she stuck her head up and has never stopped doing it since. She’s a good mare.”
“Cross Country. He’s just coming to hand. He’s only been trained for two races, all year. He worked well in Fairyhouse the other day, and I’m very happy with him. He’s moving well, is in great form, and we only want him for Cheltenham and Aintree.”
“He’ll run in the Ryanair. He got a fright last year, in Leopardstown, and never jumped a fence afterwards, but his two runs this year, in Naas behind Dinoblue, and in Cork behind El Fabiolo, I thought were very good. I think the step up in trip will suit him, and he’s got an each-way chance. He has to improve but he’s going the right way.”
“We worked him in Naas a couple of weeks ago and he got a bit tired. We hadn’t worked him in five weeks, since he ran, and he got tired, but he worked very well the other morning. He has two more bits of work to do, and he’s a very nice horse, but he wasn’t right after Naas so he’s not without his chance in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. We’ve gone close with lesser horses.”
“He’ll go for the Arkle. He did nothing wrong in Leopardstown, only he got beaten. I think he’s maturing the whole time. He was more mature the second day than he was the first day and even though there is a little kink in him, he’s got an engine.”
“I thought three miles was going to be too far for him but there’s a chance we could supplement him for the Brown Advisory. He’s frustrating but he has a massive engine.”
“I’d day he’ll run in the Martin Pipe. He has probably bumped into a couple of good horses. He had to give Willie’s horse (Asian Master) a lot of weight in Navan, but he’ll run well.”
“Million-dollar question where he’ll go. If the ground came up soft, it’s not beyond (the bounds of possibility) that I could run him in the Champion Hurdle but, at the moment, the Stayers’ is where he’s going. He’s very laid back, and I don’t think the trip will be a problem, but we’ll leave it until the last minute. He’s not the biggest horse in the world and he’s still a young horse, so I think we’ll keep him over hurdles for the time being.”
“He’ll run in the Bumper. He’s a nice horse and has a good attitude. He’s one of those horses that wants to win.”
“He pulled a muscle, and we didn't get to run him (when planned). Then I put myself under pressure to run him and he’d have come on a stone from his first run. I think he’s a good horse, and we haven’t missed a beat with him since he ran. He’s in good form now, and we’re happy with him.”
“I think he’s going under the radar. He doesn’t do anything fancy at home. He was declared for the maiden hurdle in Down Royal in November but got a kick the day before and we ended up missing a month with him. He came on an awful lot from the last day. He mightn’t have beaten the winner (Jeroboam Machin) that day but could have been a good second if he got the run of the race. it wouldn’t shock me if Jack rode him, to be honest."
: “Jack is very keen for me to run him in the County. He’s staying better than he used to, and he’s settling better, and the County Hurdle could be made for him.”
“He’ll go for the Albert Bartlett. He’s not as slow as you think, and he has a massive engine, but he’d need to jump better than he has in his last couple of runs. He’s schooling well at home and is a big chaser, but he does stay well.”
“She’ll run in the Mares’ Chase, and I think she’s overpriced at 20-1. She’s in good form. We’ll freshen her up and go straight there. Yeah (it would be great to get a winner for her owners, Bective Stud). They are big supporters and have got a nice team going over, but we all know it’s not easy to get winners in Cheltenham.”
“He won the Stayers’ last year and won in Aintree and was only beaten in Punchestown. He’s been the horse of a lifetime, to be honest. He worked very well on Saturday. He likes it when the sun comes out and seems to like Cheltenham as well.”
“He’s in good form, we’re very happy with him. We’re going straight from the Hatton’s Grace to the Stayers’. I’ll be shocked if Jack doesn’t ride him. He’s a proven stayer. We minded him for the race, and I’d imagine we’ll go here and might go to France with him.”
