Gordon Elliott's Better Days Ahead is set to compete in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Novice Chase at Navan this Sunday, aiming to secure his place in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at Cheltenham. Elliott opted to withdraw the gelding from the Dublin Racing Festival due to the ground conditions and distance not being suitable for his strengths. The trainer believes the Navan race and the Brown Advisory will be ideal for Better Days Ahead, who narrowly missed out at Grade One level during the Christmas period. Elliott also has Three Card Brag and Stellar Story competing in the same race.
Gordon Elliott is aiming for a strong showing at the upcoming Cheltenham Festival with Better Days Ahead, who will compete in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Novice Chase at Navan this Sunday. The seven-year-old was initially entered for the Ladbrokes Novice Chase at Leopardstown during the Dublin Racing Festival but was withdrawn by Elliott. He felt the two-mile-five-furlong distance and yielding ground would not be advantageous for the gelding's strengths.
Better Days Ahead, who narrowly missed out at Grade One level during the Christmas period, will now use the Navan race as a stepping stone to secure a place in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at Cheltenham.Elliott expressed his rationale behind the decision, stating, “I had Better Days Ahead in Leopardstown last weekend and I took him out on the day because they changed the ground over two-five and he’s a real three-miler. Probably on the day it rode a little bit easier than they described it and I was kind of a little bit sorry I didn’t run him. He obviously won the Martin Pipe last year, that’s a race that seems to throw up good horses and I think the Brown Advisory will really suit him in Cheltenham.” Elliott's team is well-represented at Navan, with Three Card Brag and Stellar Story also competing in the race formerly known as the Ten Up Novice Chase. Stellar Story, a previous Festival winner, is transitioning to fences after a successful run in the Grade Two Florida Pearl. However, his last outing in the same race as Better Days Ahead saw him disappoint, finishing last of four.The trainer acknowledged Stellar Story's potential, saying, “Stellar Story will probably go for that (Brown Advisory) as well, but I wouldn’t worry what the placings are on Sunday because with Stellar Story it’s all about getting a clear round into him and a bit of confidence. He operated at Cheltenham last year, he’s an Albert Bartlett winner and the the Brown Advisory will suit him.” Elliott is confident that his strategy of bypassing the Dublin Racing Festival with his top contenders will pay off during the spring festivals. He added, “We took the decision not to run a lot of our big guns in Dublin. I think we only had one horse under 6-1 or 7-1 at the whole meeting, so that shows what we ran at it. When you come out of the two days with no winner you think maybe we should have ran a few better ones, but that was the decision we made. We decided we wanted to freshen a few up and maybe have them for Fairyhouse, Punchestown and Aintree.” The race also features other notable contenders like Willie Mullins' Chosen Witness and the Vincent Halley-trained Arctic Skua.
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