THE Dublin Racing Festival is the scene for the next chapter in what has already been a memorable season for Gordon Elliott, and hopes are high that the picture will look much different this time at Leopardstown than last year.
With a clear priority to keep his horses fresh for Cheltenham, the Cullentra handler only sent 25 horses to the two-day meeting in 2025 and came away without a winner.
In contrast, his biggest rival, Willie Mullins, notched seven winners (including six Grade 1s) from 53 runners. In prize money terms, Elliott won €160,500 at last year’s DRF, in comparison to Mullins’ €1,008,250.
The Dublin track was certainly kind over Christmas to the current championship leader, however, and a stronger team is in the mix for the upcoming €2.15 million meeting on January 31st and February 1st.
“Last year, I took a different view with it,” Elliott says of the DRF. “I might have started off my horses earlier in the season, they had a run or two more and I might have missed Dublin.
“I don’t know if it was the right thing to do; the horses just didn’t get the bounce of the ball at Cheltenham. We had seconds and thirds before a winner at the end. The prize money is so good, you have to go to Leopardstown.”
Post-festive form
Elliott saddled a whopping 23 winners between Christmas and New Year’s Day, and there have been three in the period since. However, there have also been 11 Cullentra seconds in the last fortnight and 12 more thirds in the same period. How does Elliott reflect on his post-Christmas form?
“I get frustrated every day that I don’t have a winner,” he says.
“You’re delighted to see horses placed and running well, but you always want more winners. On another day, five or six of those placed horses could have won and you’d be having a great time. We’ve had seven winners since January 1st. By our standards, that mightn’t be great - to a lot of people it is - but there have also been 30 horses finish second or third since then. We wouldn’t be having any question if three or four had won.
“The horses are in good form and I think the fact we concentrated so much on Christmas, which is three or so weeks ago, means we haven’t run the majority of those horses again since. It wouldn’t worry me too much. Do I think about it? Yes, I do. But if you don’t think about those things, you shouldn’t be in this game.”
A theme of the long-range Elliott entries for the DRF is considerably more strength in the novice hurdling division than the senior chases.
It reflects the rebuilding process that has been ongoing for the 41-time Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer, and his hope that infusing young blood can continue to reap dividends in the seasons to come.
“We’ve reinvested and we have a lot of young horses coming along,” Elliott explains.
“We are probably lacking at the top end for a Gold Cup horse or so on, but there are a lot of young novices coming along who we’re really looking forward to.”
Title talk quashed
When asked about his prospects of winning a first trainers’ title during a Horse Racing Ireland-organised press morning this week, Elliott refused to talk up any possible bid - despite his current lead of €631,135 over Willie Mullins.
“I have absolutely no chance,” Elliott insists.
“Honestly, when people talk about Vincent O’Brien and these sorts of things, Willie Mullins is a different machine altogether. The horses he has, the numbers he has, the set-up he has is second to none.
“I’m lucky to be in the same league as him and I think I’ve been second to him 13 times now. It’s something I dream of and I’d love to do it one day, but I think it’s going to take a few more years before we get where we want to be.”
There is optimism, though, that stable jockey Jack Kennedy might be able to regain his jockeys’ championship. After Thursday’s action at Gowran, the current standings in the title race see Darragh O’Keeffe leading on 80 and the Cullentra number-one rider on 77. Paul Townend is back in third on 51.
“I think Jack is in pole position,” Elliott says.
“He’s unlucky to have had so many injuries down the years, and I don’t think anyone would begrudge Jack being champion jockey. “The resilience he has to keep coming back from injuries is something else. I think he’s in a good position at the moment.”
Ballyfad
“He was good when winning a maiden hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas. He doesn’t show anything at home, but I was happy with what I saw from him last time. He goes for the two-mile Grade 1 [Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle] on day two at Leopardstown. He’s very unassuming, but looks a good horse.”
Barbizon
“We’re thinking about running him in the Grade 1 [Gannon’s City Recovery & Recycling Services] Juvenile Hurdle, alongside Mange Tout, and Immediate Effect.”
Brighterdaysahead
“We were absolutely thrilled with what she showed at Christmas and the Irish Champion Hurdle is very much the plan. She’s in great form. Shane McCann rides her every day and is very happy with her. We think she’s definitely improved since her run at Christmas. She probably stood in her box for three weeks in November. She was ready to run at Down Royal just before that in a novice chase; that’s the road we were going. It’s been well publicised that she pulled a muscle and was lame, which meant we missed two and a half or three weeks of work.
“She’s in very good form now. Whether she’s good enough to beat Lossiemouth, I’m not saying that at all - she’s a super mare - but we definitely have improved. Lossiemouth wasn’t doing a whole lot in front and could have been value for a couple more lengths.
“In terms of our mare’s record at Cheltenham [winless in first two visits], if you don’t think about those things you shouldn’t be training at the level I want to be at. Every day I don’t have a winner, I lie in bed thinking of what you could do differently. Do I think about Cheltenham with Brighterdaysahead a lot? Yes, I do. She’s been so good at Aintree and other places, but it hasn’t worked at Cheltenham.
“It definitely wouldn’t stop me going back there with her, but you do think about what you could do differently with her. Could you travel later or earlier? The first year, she ran a very good race when second to Golden Ace, who doesn’t get the credit she deserves. That day, I think Jack and Paul [Townend, on Jade De Grugy] looked at each other, thought there was nothing else to beat and got caught napping. Look, if everything goes well at the DRF, she’ll be at Cheltenham in March.”
Charismatic Kid
“This is a horse I like. He came to us after winning a bumper at Navan [for Colm Ryan and was purchased by Gigginstown House Stud for £300,000]. He works very well. We could run two or three nice horses in the Grade 2 Future Stars Bumper and he looks like one of them. I think he could run a big race.”
Croke Park
“I’d say I’m going to bring him back to Leopardstown for the [O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey] Leopardstown Handicap Chase. He’d be a graded horse coming back into a handicap, and hopefully that might give him a chance.”
El Cairos
“I don’t think he’ll run at the Dublin Racing Festival. He’s in great form, though, and the plan is to run him at Thurles on Thursday in a maiden hurdle. A bit of nice ground there should suit him. I always feel that a horse who gets a fall like he did over Christmas, if he goes down to the first one or two hurdles and is a bit slow over them, it’s all over.
“I’m thinking of going for that maiden hurdle then straight to the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. He’s absolutely flying at the moment; he did a serious bit of work the other day. Everyone saw what he was going to do at Christmas; he was just unlucky and speed caught him.”
Firefox
“We’re thinking about running him in the [Paddy Power] Irish Gold Cup. It’s a roll of the dice because he’s probably a little between a rock and a hard place, but we’ll run him over three miles and see how he gets on.”
Found A Fifty
“He’s in the Grade 1 [Ladbrokes] Dublin Chase over two miles and a furlong. I’m not sure whether we’ll run there or if we’ll keep him for the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park [on February 14th]. The Red Mills might be a more realistic target.”
Honesty Policy
“If the ground isn’t bottomless, he’ll go for the Boyne Hurdle at Navan [on February 8th]. If the ground doesn’t suit, it’ll be straight to the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham for him. He came out of his third in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot very well, and he hit the line strongly there. If there was a race at the Dublin Racing Festival for him, I’d love to be going there with him.”
Jalon d’Oudairies
“We might step him up in class for the Grade 1 [Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle] over two miles and six furlongs. He’d have come on a lot from his run at Christmas [when second in a Leopardstown maiden hurdle behind Frankie John]. I haven’t spoken to Michael [O’Leary] yet, but he likes having runners in Grade 1s. He’s in good form.”
Kala Conti
“She’s two from two over fences. It wouldn’t shock me if she went for the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown on the same weekend as the Dublin Racing Festival. We’ll keep an eye on the ground.”
Kalypso’chance
“He was beaten in a Grade 3 at Cork last time [when 11/10 favourite and struck into during the race], having won a Grade 3 at Navan before that. He didn’t really jump a hurdle at Cork and I’d say his back mightn’t have been 100% that day. He could go for the two-mile-six-furlong [Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors-sponsored] novice hurdle.”
Koktail Brut
“He wasn’t 100% after his run in the Grade 1 at Christmas [when the vet reported him to have blood at both nostrils post-race]. We might go back for the two-mile [Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle] next. He’s in good form and did win the Royal Bond two starts ago.”
Keep Him Company
“We’ve decided against running him at the Dublin Racing Festival. He won his two bumpers nicely at Fairyhouse and Leopardstown and will go straight to Cheltenham. He’s a big horse, one for the future.”
Mange Tout
“At the moment, she looks the pick of our juvenile hurdlers in the Grade 1 juvenile hurdle. We didn’t run her at Christmas because she’d already had three runs over hurdles, having won in France and at Down Royal and Fairyhouse previously. She’s a good mare, we like her.”
Ndaawi
“We gave him a break after his last run in the Morgiana. He’s only back in and I’d say you won’t see him until the spring.”
Oldschool Outlaw
“She goes for the Grade 3, the Solerina Mares’ Novice Hurdle, [today] at Fairyhouse. We’ll see how that goes, but we think she could be one for the Mares’ [Novices’] Hurdle.
“Bambino Fever obviously would have improved from her first run of the season against us at Naas, but we think Oldschool Outlaw is a good mare.”
Romeo Coolio
“He’s a great horse and has already won two Grade 1s this season. He’s entered in both the Goffs Irish Arkle over two miles and a furlong and the Ladbrokes Novice Chase over an extended two miles and five furlongs at the Dublin Racing Festival.
“I’m not leaning one way or another, I’m under no pressure to make a decision until late. I’ll just watch the opposition and see what happens between now and then.
“He’s won over two miles. I think he’s arguably been at his best over two miles and five furlongs, but we’ll look at the opposition and make our mind up. “We’ll get the DRF out of the way before decisions on Cheltenham.
“In the perfect world, we should be going to Fairyhouse for the Grade 1 over two and a half miles, but both owners are from the UK and rightly want to go to Cheltenham.”
Skylight Hustle
“He’s had three runs over hurdles already this season, so whether he goes to the Dublin Racing Festival or not isn’t certain.
“It wouldn’t shock me if you saw him stepping up in trip as well this season; I don’t think he’s just a two-miler. You could see more from him over further.
“It has to be decided if we go straight to Cheltenham or not. There’s nothing wrong with him, it’s just a case of whether he needs another run… The prize money at the DRF is good, though. You’ve still got to look at the bigger picture.”
Teahupoo
“He’ll go straight to the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. If there was a three-mile option for him at Leopardstown, he might go to the Dublin Racing Festival, but there’s not.
“He’s been in great form since he came out of Leopardstown at Christmas - that was arguably one of his best performances.
“Everyone kind of gets on the bandwagon of saying he needs real soft ground and a break between his races… I think one day Davy Russell got off him after winning the Galmoy Hurdle and said he needed a break - everyone leaped onto that. He’s been a horse of a lifetime.”
The Yellow Clay
“I’d say his first start of the season at Navan knocked the hell out of him. Himself and Jetara had very hard races in behind Colonel Mustard, and both were down the field in the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown next time.
“The Dublin Racing Festival comes too soon for him. I might end up going for a handicap at Cheltenham with him.”
Western Fold
“A few of my novice chasers will go the handicap route rather than the Grade 1 novice chases at the DRF, but we’ve got Western Fold entered for the Ladbrokes Novice Chase.
“He’s a very highly-rated novice with a mark of 157. He’s already won a Mayo National, a Galway Plate, a Grade 2 Champion Chase at Gowran and when you look back on his last run in the Grade 1 Champion Chase at Down Royal, he’s only a length and a half off Affordale Fury in third. He’s obviously gone on to win a Savills Chase. “That’s serious form for a novice. Western Fold isn’t the biggest, but he’s a good horse. He’s had a good break since his last start in November. I hope he’ll be fit enough at Leopardstown.”
Wingmen
“It goes to show how good some of these [beginners’] chases in Ireland are when you have good horses rated in the mid-140s getting beaten. Wingmen has been running well without getting his head in front so far. He probably could end up in a nice handicap at Cheltenham.”
Wodhooh
“She’s in great form and goes straight to the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. She actually missed a week after [Leopardstown at Christmas]. She gave herself a little cut a couple of days before the race and just aggravated it, but we were happy to go straight there with her anyway.”
Finding well-handicapped horses for
major festivals
“Honestly, I think the days of being clever and picking out well-handicapped horses for big handicaps are over. Everyone goes on about the Paddy Power Chase as being one of the biggest handicap chases of the year.
“We had the first and second this season, Favori De Champdou and Search For Glory, and they had run in every handicap chase for the last two years.
“Being clever might be one thing, but I think it’s about whatever horse turns up on the day and gets a bit of luck in running.
“We’ll have loads of entries in the DRF handicaps, plenty with good chances, but I’m not saying we have anything overly well handicapped.”
The Irish Gold Cup
“It looks like we’ll have a massive field again and we should have a great race to look forward to. Every horse has got a chance, the way it’s working out.
“I can remember A Plus Tard winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2022 and we were all saying he’d win it for the next three or four years, but it didn’t materialise that way.
“When Inothewayurthinkin won it last season, you could have said the same. You were wondering what’s going to beat him over the next few years.
“Hopefully, Gavin [Cromwell] can get him back. If he does, he’s the one we all have to beat.
“Affordale Fury was very good at Christmas. It was well publicised that Galopin Des Champs was going to come on from his first start of the season in the Savills.
“He’s so good around Leopardstown that you’d imagine he’ll be very hard to beat again now.”