GORDON Elliott is set for a busy weekend with runners on both sides of the Irish Sea, but perhaps the most important performance will come from Brighterdaysahead, who will work after racing at Navan on Sunday. “She’s in good form,” Elliott reported. “Shane McCann, who rides her out every day, is very happy with her.”
On whether connections have made any decisions regarding her Cheltenham target, the trainer said: “We’ll leave a decision on Cheltenham as late as we can, but we’re not going to leave it until the Sunday morning. We’ll be fair to everyone and make a decision the week before and let everyone know.
“We’ll run her in whatever the right race is for the mare, whether that’s the Champion Hurdle or the Mares’ Hurdle. I’d love to win a Champion Hurdle and I could be a long time waiting to get a mare like her again, but there’ll be no decision just yet.
“The mares’ race possibly looks the easier race, but a lot can happen in four or five weeks with horses, so you have to see what happens to the opposition and then we’ll weigh it up.”
The next question on everyone’s lips is how Brighterdaysahead compares to Elliott’s previous stars, and the trainer mused: “It’s hard to say she’s the best I’ve ever had, because you’ve got a lot of horses that don’t even make the track for whatever reason, but I mightn’t have had too many better than her.”
Heiress to the throne
“Apple’s Jade wasn’t fancy, but she was very, very tough and had a big heart. This mare has a big heart, but she’s got probably a bit more class, if I’m being honest.”
The latest chapter in Apple’s Jade’s career unfolds on Saturday, when her first foal Apples Jane debuts in the bumper at Naas. Noel and Valerie Moran’s Bective Stud bought Apple’s Jade carrying the Walk In The Park filly for €530,000 at Goffs.
“When Noel and Valerie (Moran) went into the breeding game, it was to have very well-bred horses, such as Apples Jane, so Saturday will be an exciting day to see her in action,” Elliott said.
“Eternal Echo and Apples Jane are two nice horses and it is a bumper we’ve had a bit of luck in previously, so hopefully they’ll both run well.” Elliott has won three of the last five runnings of the bumper run in memory of Christopher Dunne, and finished second in the other two.
Bright young things
Appropriately, Saturday’s card also features the Ryan’s Cleaning Apple’s Jade Mares Novice Hurdle, a listed event, in which Gordon Elliott’s sole representative is the Bective Stud-owned Magic Boum. Bought for £110,000 after winning a four-year-old mares’ maiden at Kildorrery for Mary Doyle, she made a perfect start under rules in a maiden hurdle at the track in December, but her jumping was disappointing at Fairyhouse last month.
Kurasso Blue is another intriguing recruit for the Elliott yard and the Triumph Hurdle entry makes his first start for Robcour in the PSIL Property Maintenance Supporting Kill GAA Rated Hurdle. The Masked Marvel gelding was purchased privately after winning a three-year-old hurdle at Auteuil in good style for Yannick Fouin.
“Kurasso Blue has settled into life at Cullentra very well and hopefully will be a nice prospect for the future,” Elliott reported.
“He won on very soft ground at Auteuil, so should relish conditions at Naas this weekend. We’re just looking forward to getting him started and we’ll see where he goes from there.”