Love of the job not blinding Elliott from racing's issues

There is a certain contradiction to how the trainer views the sport

Sam Ewing on Romeo Coolio, left, and Jack Kennedy on Brighterdaysahead lead a string of horses as they cool down on the gallops at the launch of the Bar One Racing Fairyhouse Winter Festival at Gordon Elliott’s Cullentra House base on Monday. Picture: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

Gordon Elliott is a proud Meath man, a statement he likes to qualify by clarifying that he lives and works in Longwood but is from Summerhill.

When his local meetings take place, he likes to be front and centre with his runners, so it should have come as no surprise to anyone that he saddled eight winners at the weekend’s two-day meeting in Navan.