The start of the Cheltenham Festival is less than three weeks away and the excitement is beginning to build. Gordon Elliott is likely to be the main challenger to Willie Mullins’ dominance once again and there’s one horse that has really caught his eye. He gave a particularly glowing assessment of the horse in a recent interview and he’s very excited to unleash her. Why not check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Brighterdaysahead is unbeaten in five starts so far, including three runs over hurdles. She was particularly good over 2m5f at Navan last time out, when scoring by 12 lengths, and her trainer believes she’ll improve plenty for the run. That would indeed be ominous for her rivals in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Gordon Elliott was recently asked for a horse which he can’t wait to run at Cheltenham and he answered very quickly with this mare’s name. He said: ” I think she’s very, very good. I don’t say it too often, I think the world of her. She’s very good.” When a man like Gordon Elliott repeats the words ‘very’ and ‘good’ that many times when talking about one horse, it’s certainly a good idea to take note.
The Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle is shaping up to be a very competitive and quality race this year. Willie Mullins’ unbeaten hurdler Jade De Grugy is an obvious candidate and Fergal O’Brien’s Dysart Enos is also a smart prospect. Epatante’s half-sister Joyeuse could line up and she might be interesting at a price.
Such is Gordon Elliott’s adoration of Brighterdaysahead, it’s unlikely that he’ll be scared of any of those mares and if she’s half as good as he thinks, the rest of the field may not get near her on the day.
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