FRESH from dominating the two-day Navan Festival with eight winners over last weekend, Gordon Elliott was not resting on his laurels on Monday morning as the attention moves to the second Meath track next weekend, when Fairyhouse stages its Bar One Racing Fairyhouse Winter Festival on Saturday, November 30th and Sunday, December 1st.
Sponsors were on hand at Elliott’s yard, as 19 horses worked, with some of his Navan winners also out for a gentle morning.
Bar One sponsor the three big races on the Sunday, December 1st, the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase and Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle plus the Grade 2 Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle.
The Grade 3 WillowWarm Hurdle is one of the features on the Saturday.
Teahupoo was the feature horse of the morning, winner of his three Grade 1 contests last season. The Grade 1 Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle is again the target and starting point for 2022 and 2023 winner.
The seven-year-old has kicked off his last two campaigns by claiming victories in the Grade 1 and Elliott said: “We’ve got it in our heads to do the same thing as last year and go down the same route with him – Fairyhouse, Cheltenham and back to Punchestown. He’s in great form. He’s not fancy at home, he just does what he has to do.
“I’m a Meath man, I love to be represented as well as I can at the Meath tracks. It’s a great track, the best horse always wins.”
The yard’s star mare Brighterdaysahead was a possible, but runs today.
“She’s come out of Down Royal really well and we’re looking forward to getting her out.
“We toyed with going chasing, but Michael wanted to stay hurdling, so that was the final decision. She’s only five and she’s got a lot years in front of her, so I’m not disappointed. We’ve a lot of novice chasers this year.”
Large representation
And on those novice chasers, the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase is likely to have a large Elliott representation.
The trainer said: “I’ve got a lot of entries in it and I could see us running three or four.
“Farren Glory will definitely run, Shecouldbeanything will definitely run, Down Memory Lane is a possible, Firefox is there, Croke Park will run, Better Days Ahead, any of them could run. It wouldn’t shock me if I had four runners.”
Better Days Ahead could end up in the mix after winning over fences at Navan on Sunday, when seeing off fellow Cheltenham Festival scorer Slade Steel.
Elliott said: “I thought he was beatable, to be honest, over that trip and having to make the running, but he’s got a lot stronger from last year and I was impressed with him, he was even better than I thought he would be.
“Noel (Moran, of owners Bective Stud) is a Meath man and he’d be keen to have runners at Fairyhouse, so we’ll see how the next couple of weeks go and it wouldn’t be a shock at all if he turned up in the Drinmore.
“Farren Glory got a bad fall in Aintree and I probably shouldn’t have run him back. He looks like a chaser and he won well in Naas.”
Down Memory Lane also impressed at Navan and is another to fit in on the two runs before Cheltenham plan.
“He was bought to be a chaser, I was very impressed with him, I loved the way he quickened down over the last two.”
Romeo Coolio is potentially the new novice hurdling star after finishing second in last season’s Champion Bumper.
He impressed, winning by 18 lengths on his debut over timber at Down Royal and now has the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle as his next target.
Elliott said: “He’s settled a lot from last year. He’s classy, he’s good. I don’t think two and a half miles would be a problem, but I don’t have many quicker than him. He’s exciting and I’d say himself and maybe The Yellow Clay are the quickest I have, so I’d imagine we’ll stay at two miles.”
Kala Conti also scored on her seasonal reappearance at Down Royal and will be hoping to improve on her second last year to Nurburgring in the juvenile contest.
“I’d imagine she’ll go for the WillowWarm Hurdle. She was in good form last year and then she got a little setback, but she was good in Down Royal.”
Porterstown
Sunday’s Bar One Racing ‘Guaranteed Overnight Prices’ Porterstown Handicap Chase, a listed event over three miles and five furlongs, is also on the target list. “We’d likely have four or five runners. I’d imagine Favori De Champdou, Where It All Began, Dunboyne and a few others.”
General Humble is on a hat-trick after Fairyhouse and Punchestown wins this month, but “he’s gone up 20lb, he might run in the ladies’ race, if it’s not too soft”.
Elliott also sponsors the Willie Elliott Memorial (Pro/Am) Flat Race to close the Saturday meeting and will be well represented here.
Among the horses on show on Monday were four Gigginstown four-year-old bumper prospects, Koktail Brut, Ma Jacks Hill, He Can’t Dance and Kalypso’chance.
Elliott added: “I’ll be well-represented in the bumper. All my friends and family come up that day, so it would be nice to win it.”
Elliott was also in praise of the Easyfix Hurdles, which Fairyhouse intend to use on the inner track. “I like them. We’ve been schooling over them last year and saw zero cuts or injuries. I think they are the way to go.”