Gordon Elliott: “He was bought to be a Gold Cup horse”

Envoi Allen winning the 2019 Champion Bumper

It won’t come as a shock to many but Gordon Elliott confirmed plans for Envoi Allen to go chasing when speaking this afternoon in a Racing TV interview. With racing back behind closed doors at Doncaster this week, it’s nice to at least have something to look forward to!

The story so far

A perfect 8/8 in his career and twice a Cheltenham Festival winner, Envoi Allen will be amongst the most anticipated chasing debuts in recent years. He was imperious over hurdles last season and scarily for his potential foes, has the potential to be better yet over the bigger obstacles.

Connections will no doubt play down the fact that he is without blemish in his career but for the racing fan, to have a horse with that kind of record is a dream. Most of us would surely like to see another unbeaten season of four to five starts to keep rolling on that sequence as long as he possibly can.

The big question

Where Envoi Allen pitch up at Cheltenham will be what punters want to know. Despite the quote from Elliott this afternoon that he will go chasing, no specific target was mentioned. Seen as a future Gold Cup horse but certainly with the speed to win over shorter, the Marsh V RSA debate will be one of the biggest questions to be answered in March.

The Ballymore turned into a bit of a sprint so although it was the longest trip he has encountered, a time thirty seconds over standard didn’t really test his stamina. The Marsh is generally the easier target but if he’s a Gold Cup horse will connections take the Denman, Bob’s Worth, Lord Windermere route and head to the RSA?

It’s going to be a fascinating decision and one that we will be waiting on until the last possible minute. A market watch can tell us more but if he were yours, where would you be sending him at the Cheltenham Festival? Let us know on Twitter @myracingtips.