Powerhouse Elliott readying his strongest squad in years

Having come perilously close to drawing a blank last season, Gordon Elliott is keen to make an early impression as he readies another formidable squad for the Cheltenham Festival.

The master of Cullentra Stables has saddled 41 winners at the showpiece meeting, a hefty tally considering he did not break his duck until 2011 and missed the 2021 Festival entirely due to suspension.

However, he had to wait for prolific mare Wodhooh to come to the rescue in the concluding Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle last term, a victory which reduced Elliott to tears and ensured he did not return home empty-handed for the first time in well over a decade.

“Last year was hard for me, but it was harder for my staff. The horses ran great all week and we had a lot of horses placed in big races, we just didn’t get the bounce of the ball,” the trainer said at a press event at his yard last month.

“In racing, soccer, rugby or tennis, that’s the way sport goes and you’ve got to keep your head.

“As hard as it was for me, for all my staff that are putting all the hours in every week, it was harder for them. But the horses didn’t run bad.

“We hit the crossbar umpteen times, on another week we could have had three or four winners very easily and you’d be going home saying you’d had a great week, but it’s sport and you’ve got to keep your head up and keep going to the next day.

“It was a long, tough week, but that’s makes it better when you win, doesn’t it?”

Fast forward 12 months and Elliott’s string could hardly be in better form ahead of his trip to the Cotswolds, with a fantastic first half of the season seeing him build up a significant lead over Willie Mullins in the race for the Irish trainers’ title.

Elliott continues to insist he has “no chance” of dethroning the perennial champion, and for now his full focus is on matters across the Irish Sea.

“In this game you take nothing for granted, it’s day by day. We’re very lucky to have the horses we have and going to Cheltenham and getting a few winners, that’s what we’re all dreaming about,” he continued.

“I’ve no chance (of being champion trainer)! I might start thinking I’ve a chance if I’m still in the mix on the second-last day of Punchestown. Do I dream about it every day, yes I do, but I think it’s a long way away yet.

“The trainers in the UK only get a brief look at Willie when he goes over three or four times a year, we’ve to deal with him every day, so to be honest I’m not even thinking about it.

“I’d say we’re as strong as we’ve been since 2017. We just getting back where we were, we’ve had to rebuild almost from scratch.”

This season marks the 10-year anniversary of Elliott’s most notable Festival success to date, the Gold Cup triumph of the brilliant Don Cossack.

The gathered media are welcomed into his office surrounded by the countless trophies and photographs, but there are a couple of notable absentees.

“The (Gold Cup) trophy is in my house – all the good ones are in my house and I look at them every morning, lunchtime and dinner and before I go to bed,” Elliott quipped.

“It doesn’t seem like 10 years ago, but when you look back at the pictures there are a lot more grey hairs now and maybe a couple of extra holes on the belt!

“We’ve had a lot of good and bad days since, but it’s a day we’ll never forget.”

There have been a few bumps in the road for Elliott, but having recovered to something like the peak of his powers, more unforgettable days surely await.