Elliott anticipating top-weight for Better Days Ahead at Fairyhouse

Better Days Ahead might need to defy top-weight in the Boylesports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse if he is to boost Gordon Elliott’s chances of becoming champion trainer for the first time.

Second in both of his races this year, one over hurdles and one over fences, Elliott confirmed this race has been his target all season for the Bective Stud-owned eight-year-old.

It would go a long way to cementing Elliott’s position at the top of the Irish championship – but the man himself still thinks he is a long outsider, despite an almost £400,000 lead over Willie Mullins.

“We’ve had the season of all seasons, albeit Cheltenham wasn’t as good as we would like it, but we target all the festivals and we’ve had nine Grade One winners this season so far,” said Elliott.

“It would be lovely to do it, but I don’t think I’ve any chance at all. I’ve been lucky enough to be second to Willie for the last 13 years, but to be honest I think I’d need to win and be second in the Irish National and Willie needs to not be in the first four and that’s not going to happen.

“The Irish National has been the plan all year for Better Days Ahead. He worked well this morning (Tuesday) and you’d love to see the ground staying like that (soft).

“I wouldn’t like to see the ground getting too quick, none of us would for a National, Better Days Ahead would definitely prefer it softer.

“He’s probably going to have top-weight which is not ideal, I’d say the weights are going to go up a fair bit looking at the entries.

“We’ll probably have five or six runners in the race. Search For Glory is at the other end of the scale, the better the ground the better his chance, for a big horse he can’t handle soft ground. He looks at the right end of the handicap.

“Shecouldbeanything runs her race every time, but whether she’s good enough to win an Irish National, I couldn’t be sure. She could run into a place.

“Wingmen could run. The trip might be a worry, but if the ground dried up he could take his chance

“I think the English horses coming over could be very dangerous. Rebecca Curtis won it last year, they ran well in the handicap chases at Punchestown and you only had to see how well handicapped they looked at Cheltenham.”

Keigh Donoghue has an enviable record in long-distance chases but he is relying on possibly Gavin Cromwell’s Stumptown to improve a lamentable record in the race.

“I don’t even know if I’ve completed in the race, I have a horrendous record in it!” he said.

“This year Stumptown would be towards the top of my pecking order. He didn’t really travel like he can at Cheltenham, but on that ground it wasn’t enough of a stamina test for him.

“He is rated 13lb lower in Ireland so that will hopefully be a little bit of a help.

“He’d tick a lot of boxes, but he’s definitely not well handicapped either. There’s a lot of exposed horses, but he will stay.”

Donagh Meyler is likely to be on the Emmet Mullins-trained novice Soldier In Milan.

“I’m looking forward to him. He fits the bill as a novice, it’s his first year over fences and he’s been doing things well,” said Meyler.

“He’s a big frame of a horse and he seems to be jumping fences well, hopefully he can be bang there.

“His last race turned into a sprint which didn’t suit him, but he came out of the race well.”