THE peaks and troughs of jump racing are most acutely felt on the greatest stage of all and Gordon Elliott was familiar with both over the course of the week at Cheltenham.

On the second day of Cheltenham his star novice chaser No More Heroes had to be put down as a result of injuries sustained in the RSA Chase and then half an hour later the trainer’s Diamond King landed the Coral Cup. Cheltenham regular Cause Of Causes struck under a masterful Jamie Codd in the Kim Muir but the best was most definitely saved until last for Elliott.

DON COSSACK

From a very early stage of Don Cossack’s career it was felt that he might someday be a Gold Cup horse. He hadn’t enjoyed much luok in two previous visits to Cheltenham but since his defeat in the 2015 Ryanair Chase he had gone a long way towards establishing himself as one of the forerunners for Gold Cup glory and it all came together when it mattered most for the son of Sholokhov.

What might have happed had Cue Card not fallen when in with every chance at the third last is one of racing’s great imponderables but the day belonged to a most assured Don Cossack who consigned the Mullins-trained Djakadam to a second consecutive runner-up finish in the race.

A resurgent Pat Kelly pulled off a training master class in producing the novice Mall Dini to claim a famous victory in the Pertemps Final. Kelly won two Galway Hurdles in the early 1990s and this success was a timely reminder of his prowess.

For the first time in over a decade the O’Brien name was back amongst the winners at the festival as Ivanovich Gorbatov landed the Triumph Hurdle.

This gelding was officially trained by Aidan O’Brien but it was the latter’s son Joseph who masterminded the four-year-old’s campaign and this success was a portent of what was to come during the summer when Joseph struck out on his own.

Hunter chase kingpin On The Fringe made it back to back triumphs in the Foxhunter before going on to score at both Aintree and Punchestown. A true hunter chaser in every sense, this gelding most go down as one of the standout performers of his discipline and the reception he received at Punchestown was quite something to behold.