Envoi Allen tunes up for Cheltenham treble tilt
TRAINER Gordon Elliott will ramp up Envoi Allen’s training schedule to give the gelding a steelier edge before trying to win for a third time at the Cheltenham Festival. The Jack Kennedy-ridden odds-on favourite made it 11 victories from 11 races under rules with a three-and-a-half length win from Fils D’oudairies in the Killiney Novice Chase at Punchestown yesterday. But the race was effectively over as a meaningful test for Envoi Allen when chief rival Asterion Forlonge, the 2020 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle fourth, fell at the first fence. That left Envoi Allen in the lead and Kennedy only had to apply minimum pressure to the accelerator to win. Envoi Allen, who is odds-on favourite for the Marsh Novices’ Chase, has now won three novice chases without breaking sweat. Elliott said: ‘We will have to up his work a bit before Cheltenham. ‘He does everything so easily at home and there is plenty of improvement in him. It was a bit of an anti-climax when the other horse went at the first.’ Kennedy added that Envoi Allen had shown his professionalism by not being distracted as Asterion Forlonge and Sempo — who he had brought down — ran loose throughout the race. Kennedy said: ‘The loose horses had my heart in my mouth a few times. They crossed over me, but Envoi Allen is so honest, he never took his eye off the fence. He’s unbelievable and a very clever horse.’ Envoi Allen holds entries for next month’s Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown, but Elliott said those were insurance in case Irish horses are prevented from travelling to Britain because of Covid-19. The intention is to head straight to the Cheltenham Festival in March. Meanwhile, Dreal Deal will go for one of the novice hurdles at the Festival after a last-to-first home straight surge for trainer Ronan McNally and jockey Denis o’Regan to win the Grade Two Sky Bet Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle.