Gordon Elliott believes next month’s Unibet Champion Hurdle would be a better race for Constitution Hill’s inclusion, but he is still full of hope that his own big player, Brighterdaysahead, can land the championship prize.
A decade after landing the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Don Cossack, Elliott is in hot pursuit of the National Hunt festival’s other big pot. Brighterdaysahead flopped in last year’s Champion Hurdle, but her recent Dublin Racing Festival victory has put her right back in the mix.
“I think last year she wasn’t right,” said Elliott. “After Punchestown, we discovered something and we rectified it. She was beaten after a hurdle last year. We might do something different this year. We might stable her outside Cheltenham and just try and do something different.”
He added: “It is an open Champion Hurdle with three or four horses at the top of the betting that could win it, but she’s in good form and I couldn’t be happier with her.
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“The Skelton horse (The New Lion) is very good, Golden Ace keeps going underneath the radar and I suppose all eyes will be on Constitution Hill to see what he does back over hurdles.”
After three falls in his last four starts, Constitution Hill is the great enigma going into a race he won so memorably in 2023. Nicky Henderson’s star is due to run on the flat at Southwell on Friday week before any decision on his Cheltenham participation is made.
“I don’t think they’ll learn any more at Southwell than Nicky will have already known. So, if he runs in the race (Champion Hurdle), it’ll make it a better race, won’t it?” Elliott commented.
Asked what he would do if he was in Henderson’s position, Elliott said: “I’d let the horse do the talking. The horse has been unlucky. I’m not having it said that he’s a bad jumper and this and that. He’s just been a bit unlucky and maybe has lost a bit of confidence. But Nicky Henderson is a master trainer and whatever he does will be the right thing for the horse."
The Co Meath trainer also dismissed concerns that Brighterdaysahead might feel the effects of a tough race on heavy ground in the Irish Champion Hurdle.
“It was soft ground but we have this every day of the week in Ireland,” he said. “We don’t worry about it. We don’t go on about it. We freshen our horses up and we go into battle the next day. It was soft ground, but I’d prefer soft ground to quick ground any day of the week."
Elliott faces a late decision about whether his star novice chaser Romeo Coolio goes in the Arkle or the Brown Advisory over three miles. Along with Stayers Hurdle favourite Teahupoo and other prime prospects like Wodhooh in the Mares Hurdle, he has high hopes of adding to his 41 festival winners to date.
