Our man in Ireland has the latest ahead of Cheltenham

Cheltenham Festival preview: David Ord visits Gordon Elliott

By David Ord

Horse Racing

Wed February 11, 2026 · 11h ago

Our man visits Gordon Elliott and finds the trainer full of momentum and hope four weeks out from the Champion Hurdle.

Click here for full Gordon Elliott Cheltenham Stable Tour

30 of Gordon Elliott’s potential Cheltenham Festival string are circling in front of me. By the trainer’s own admission there could be 50.

Top in the Irish trainers’ title, five winners at the DRF and all the momentum in the world, he's a man in a good place right now.

He’s wearing a Jockey Club coat with three stars on the sleeve to commemorate the Grand National victories of Tiger Roll and Silver Birch.

There have been 41 Cheltenham Festival winners. You’d need a long sleeve for those stars.

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He had to wait until the very last race to get on the scoreboard last season, a demoralising week for the yard where the horses hit the crossbar until Wodhooh the line first in the Martin Pipe.

But you’d be surprised if there’s a similar delay this time. In fact, it might only take one race.

El Cairos stands out in this string but not because he’s a fine, imposing, chasing type, the sort Elliott and his owners like. He’s the opposite. But he has the engine that those potential three-mile chasers don’t possess either.

Jack Kennedy is first up for interview, fresh from riding Romeo Coolio in his first canter since the DRF. He was wearing a go-pro in his red cap for that but has sensibly taken it off for media duties.

He’s had two goes on El Cairos in a race so far. What sort of feel does he get?

“He’s very good. Obviously, he’s a very fast horse, the fastest I’ve ridden, he’s exciting and hopefully on the up,” he smiles,

But what about the hurdling technique – could that be found out in the Sky Bet Supreme?

“I don’t have any concerns to be honest. He jumped very well in Thurles the last day, the mistake at the last was my fault. No, I wouldn’t have any concerns about his jumping.”

And with that he’s gone. Limerick calls.

Gordon is in now.

The phones are on the table, the BBC Radio Gloucestershire microphone in a cradle.

So what has the trainer made of El Cairos so far?

“He’s a very fast horse and works very well. He looked like he was going to be very impressive at Leopardstown, and I thought what he did at Thurles, on a track that wouldn’t suit him and ground that was nearly unraceable, was good,” he says.

“I was very keen to get a run into him and were running out of time. We got to the race and the ground was bad, but you were looking at Punchestown and the other meetings that were coming up and it was just as bad there.

“He’s not a very big, robust horse, not the biggest in the world. I didn’t want to be running him three or four weeks out of Cheltenham so we ran. He’s a very quick horse and I think the Supreme will suit him.”

Gordon Elliott with Romeo Coolio

But he’s not the day one star turn for the Cullentra House team. Not on an afternoon when Romeo Coolio might contest the Arkle and Brighterdaysahead definitely will the Unibet Champion Hurdle.

She laid down a significant marker when running Lossiemouth ragged in the Irish equivalent at Leopardstown last month.

If the Champion itself was run there she’d be a very warm order. But Cheltenham, so far at least, hasn’t quite been her bag.

But the trainer is confident there were valid reasons for those defeats at the last two Festivals.

“You’d love to be going there with her having had a better performance around Cheltenham, but the first year the mare didn’t do anything wrong. I think Jack and Paul were looking at each other and that good mare called Golden Ace came and nabbed the both of them,” he recalls.

“Last year she wasn’t right. After Punchestown we discovered something and we rectified it. Put a line through last year, she was beaten after a hurdle that day.”

But the top trainers are always thinking, looking for potential tweaks to the preparation.

“We might do something this year,” Elliott concedes. “Stable her outside Cheltenham, somewhere different maybe.”

And if it works, Elliott knows he has a huge card to play in the day one feature.

“It is an open Champion Hurdle and there are two or three at the top of the market who could win it. We go there with good form; I couldn’t be happier with her but it’s a good race. The Skelton horse has been very good, obviously Golden Ace is going under the radar and I suppose all eyes will be on Constitution Hill and whether he’ll go back over hurdles,” he says.

Not that the trainer expects the Henderson team to take much from his trip to Southwell on Friday week.

“I don’t think they’ll learn any more there than Nicky will already know. If he runs in the Champion it will make it an even better race.”

Heavy artillery from day one for Elliott this time around, but the testing four days last spring have taught him plenty.

“In this game you take nothing for granted. It’s day-by-day. But we’re very lucky to have the horses we have and hopefully go to Cheltenham and get a few winners. That’s what we’re all dreaming about,” he says.

“Last year we had to wait until the very last race. We hit the crossbar umpteen times with seconds, thirds and fourths. On another week we could have gone home with three or four winners, very easily and been going home saying we’d had a great week.

“It’s sport, you have to keep your head up and keep going for the next day.”

A welcome post-canter washdown (Lorraine O’Sullivan/The Jockey Club)

Another question. Gordon you're top of the domestic trainer standings…

“I’ve no chance,” he interrupts.

“The horses are in great form, we have a great bunch of owners, it’s something we dream of every day but to be honest, there are the three or four days a year when Willie Mullins goes over and wins every race in the UK. We’ve to deal with him every day of the week.

“So, I’m not even thinking of the trainers’ championship. I’m trying to go day-by-day and do my best for my horses and my owners. But do I dream of winning it every day? Yes, I do. But I think it’s a long way away yet.”

Cheltenham isn’t. Four weeks and counting.

Elliott goes there with his strongest string since 2017 at his disposal. He feels they’re building back up to that level of firepower.

You’d be amazed if there aren’t another three or four stars being sewn onto the Cheltenham jacket on the way back home next month.

And there’s every chance two of them can be added on the Tuesday evening.