Gordon Elliott is toying with a change of approach for Brighterdaysahead ahead of his star mare's bid to make it third time lucky at the Cheltenham Festival in the Unibet Champion Hurdle.
Prestbury Park’s showpiece meeting has so far proved to be a cruel mistress for the seven-year-old, beaten at odds-on when favourite for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle in 2024 before failing to show her true colours once again when fancied to land a blow in last year’s Champion Hurdle.
She earned another crack at hurdling’s top prize when turning the tables on Lossiemouth in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown earlier this month and her trainer is considering changing tack in an attempt to finally conquer the undulations of the Cotswolds.
Speaking at a media morning organised by The Jockey Club on Tuesday, Elliott said: "You’d love to be going there with her having a better record around Cheltenham, but I think the first year the mare didn’t do anything wrong – I think Jack (Kennedy) and Paul (Townend, riding Jade De Grugy) were looking at each other and that good mare called Golden Ace came and nabbed both of them.
"Last year she wasn’t right, after Punchestown we discovered something and we’ve rectified it. I’d put a line through last year – she was beaten after a hurdle.
"We might do something different with her this year and stable her outside Cheltenham.
"I think the ground is going to be beautiful, safe ground on the Tuesday. The way the weather is you wouldn’t know what you’re going to get, but it’s not going to be quick."
Elliott plans to make a late call on which race Romeo Coolio will line up in at the Festival.
Third in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle last March, the seven-year-old is four from four over fences including a hat-trick of wins at Grade One level.
He has been made to pull out all the stops on his last couple of starts over two miles at Leopardstown, most recently edging out Kargese in the Irish Arkle, and Elliott feels his charge would ideally like to step up in distance.
However, that would mean tackling three miles and a furlong in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Festival, meaning the Arkle Trophy remains a viable option.
"We’re going to keep everything up in the air for the moment. We have the Arkle and the Brown Advisory," the trainer said at his Cullentra House stables on Tuesday.
"I don’t think three miles will be a problem at all, just whether it’s the right thing to do at this stage of his career or not I’m not sure.
"The owners are from the UK and are very keen to have runners at Cheltenham. If the middle-distance race was still there we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I suppose for racing it’s good that it’s not as it will make either race better, but for Romeo it’s not ideal."
Elliott has a strong team of novice hurdlers bound for the Cotswolds in four weeks’ time, headed by leading Supreme Novices’ Hurdle contender El Cairos.
Skylight Hustle won a Grade One at Leopardstown over Christmas over two miles, but is set to step up in trip for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, while Ballyfad could run in either race after being touched off by Talk The Talk at the Dublin Racing Festival.
"I haven’t spoken to Michael and Eddie (O’Leary, of Gigginstown House Stud) about Ballyfad yet, but my own feeling is the further he goes the better he’s going to be," Elliott continued,
"He’s not a fancy work horse at home and if you look at him in his races, he nearly looks beaten turning in but he’s very gutsy and keeps picking up. That might suit the Supreme as well, but he has both options.
"We’ll worry about it a week or 10 days out, if it was tomorrow my feeling is the middle-distance race would suit him better, but I suppose we’ll have to keep an eye on the ground and the weather."
With 41 Festival wins to his name already, Elliott is set to fire two major bullets at the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, with former winner Teahupoo to be joined by stablemate Honesty Policy.
Teahupoo finished second to Bob Olinger when bidding for back-to-back wins last season, while Honesty Policy marked himself down as a serious contender by finishing an eyecatching third in the Long Walk at Ascot on his only start this season.
Elliott said: "Teahupoo probably sets the standard and for me Honesty Policy is the young gun coming behind them. They’re two nice horses, but Teahupoo has the form and I wouldn’t swap him.
"I was impressed with Honesty Policy at Ascot – he was the horse to take out of it, he hit the line strong.
"I was keen to run him at Navan the other day but the ground was just so heavy and he’s not the biggest or most robust horse.
"With every week you get a week closer, we’ll get a racecourse gallop into him and he’ll go straight to Cheltenham."
Other leading hopes for the team include the Mares’ Hurdle-bound Wodhooh and Oldschool Outlaw, who must be one of Elliott’s best chances of the entire meeting in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.
He said: "I was impressed with Oldschool Outlaw the last day. She has a good attitude. I liked the way she quickened from the last to the line.
"She’s obviously beaten Bambino Fever already and while she’ll have come on ours will have as well. I think she’s improved at home, she’s improving the whole time. She’s a nice mare."
