ELLIOTT’S SPECIAL ENVOI LIGHTS UP FAIRYHOUSE
Unbeaten novice looks star in the making as Honeysuckle takes feature
RARELY has there been such hype surrounding a four-legged beast, but Envoi Allen continues to justify all the superlatives with another jaw-dropping display bringing his unbeaten record on the track to a perfect 10.
Gordon Elliott doesn’t do nerves, but even he confessed to a patchy night’s sleep before the six-year-old’s latest test in yesterday’s Grade One Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse given the expectation that surrounds him.
Elliott surely slept like a baby last night, though, having watched a “superstar” at work as the 2/11 favourite gave a dazzling display with Jack Kennedy flicking the switch between the last two fences before coasting home by eightand-a-half lengths.
Scratched
His three challengers were immaterial as this was all about Envoi Allen, which could well be the best jumps horse in training with Elliott insisting that the surface hasn’t even been scratched with the two-time Cheltenham Festival winner.
“He’s the horse of a lifetime, he’s a superstar and we’re just lucky to have him,” Elliott said on the 10-year anniversary of his first Grade One winner. “When he gets into a real race, that’s when you’ll see the real horse.
“Jack said he was foot-perfect all the way around and once he gave him a squeeze at the second last it was all over. The one thing he did say is that he’s having a good blow and there’s plenty of improvement in him.
“We might miss Christmas, we’re thinking of a Grade Two at Punchestown in January and onto the Marsh (for which he is now as short as 5/4 favourite). He’s getting stronger but he is also getting more laid-back.”
Regular rider Davy Russell, who hopes to have recovered from a serious neck injury to partner him at Cheltenham next March, admitted that he had “goosebumps watching him” from his Youghal home and the only pity was that the Meath track wasn’t heaving with fans showing their admiration for a special talent.
It was a double act in terms of star power as the brilliant Honeysuckle (4/11 favourite) landed back-to-back renewals of the baroneracing.com Hatton’s Grace Hurdle to bring her career record to 10 successive wins. Rachael Blackmore continued her love affair with Henry de Bromhead’s stable star as the six-yearold repelled a barnstorming effort from Matthew Smith’s Ronald Pump (11/1) to hold on by half a length in a thrilling renewal.
“She gets the job done every day and you can’t discredit her in any way, she’s unbelievable,” a beaming Blackmore said. “She’s very special.”
She is likely to defend her Irish Champion Hurdle crown at the Dublin Racing Festival in February before a decision is made on whether she attempts to retain her Mares’ Hurdle title or take a crack at the boys in Cheltenham’s Champion Hurdle.
Elliott dominated the day with a 29.5/1 four-timer as Ballyadam (8/15 favourite) cemented his place at the head of the Supreme market (6/1) when landing the other Grade One of the day, the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, in good style under Kennedy. Elliott and Kennedy also combined to turn the Grade Three Juvenile Hurdle into a procession with Zanahiyr (16/5) coasting home by 14 lengths as champion trainer Willie Mullins failed to visit the winners’ enclosure.
Court Maid (17/2) did provide a winner for the father/son combination of Tom and David Mullins, however, when landing the biggest pot of the day, the €125,000 Porterstown Handicap Chase.