“It’s a good thing I won it!” Gordon Elliott joked in the winner’s enclosure after Coko Beach emerged best of his 14 runners and remaining four trainers’ runners six runners in the Bar One Racing Troytown Handicap Chase at Navan.

The feature contest was the highlight of another brilliant day for Elliott at his local track, with four winners added to his treble the previous day.

The Gigginstown-owned grey, already a Thyestes Chase and Irish Grand National Trial winner, is still only an eight-year-old and again, revelled in attritional conditions to claim another big pot.

There was early drama in the race when the 21-runner field became 18 runners following the falls of Elliott’s pair Diol Ker and Cavalry Master, which in turn brought down the Munster National runner-up Largy Debut.

Coko Beach stayed out of trouble by racing prominently on the inside for Danny Gilligan and always looked to be travelling within himself. The pair took it up from stablemate Fakir D’Alene after the second last and though the challenge of Limerick Lace looked a real threat, all Coko Beach does is stay and he answered Gilligan’s call after the last to win by two and a quarter lengths.

Fakir D’Alene ran a fine race in third, and was followed home by stablemates Dunboyne and Frontal Assualt in fourth and fifth.

“Jack (Kennedy) was thinking about riding him (Coko Beach) but I said I wanted to claim off of him so he was Danny’s ride,” Elliott said. “I thought it was a good race to watch, helter skelter the whole way and all horses are back okay. I thought Gavin’s horse (Limerick Lace) was coming to get him because in the past he has often faded a bit. Gavin’s horse ran a great race. Thankfully we won it.

“He’s a great a horse, we are lucky to have him. He’s a bit of a boyo at home, a real character. Danny gave him a great ride. He had a good run in Limerick the last day and he loves that soft ground. We might look at the National for him. The Paddy Power would be too quick for him. He probably needs soft ground to be honest."

Plenty had been written and said about Elliott’s domination of the declarations but the local trainer had been assertive in his views about his representation and was so again here.

“We have to support the race,” he said. “It’s massively important for Navan, for sponsors Bar One Racing and for Irish racing. If I didn’t run them, there would only have been seven in the Munster National, six in this race. I will support these races and my owners want to support them. I don’t know if it’s the type of slow horse I buy!”

It was a great weekend for the Gilligan family, with Danny’s brother Jack and father Paul, combining for a Cheltenham success through the well backed Buddy One yesterday. Danny was adding this signature handicap chase to his Galway Plate victory on Ash Tree Meadow.

On the runner-up Limerick Lace, Gavin Cromwell said: “She has run a big race and we’ve just bumped into a real strong stayer. She should have plenty of options in the other big handicap chases.”