THEY say you have to be willing to work in the dark if you want to shine in the light and, on a miserable, wet and pitch-black morning at Navan Racecourse, Gordon Elliott is raring to put that adage to the test.

It’s just past 6.45am and the man who is only one win away from becoming the joint-most successful trainer in Grand National history is parked up adjacent to the racecourse stableyard. In the teeming, wintery rain - with dawn yet to break - the beams from his smart Colm Quinn-sponsored BMW XM 50e feel like the only lit-up spot for miles.