Timeform highlight Gordon Elliott's three highest-rated horses after the trainer celebrated his 2000th winner in Britain and Ireland on Tuesday.
1. Don Cossack (Peak Timeform annual rating 183)
Don Cossack was offered to Gigginstown by his first trainer Eddie Hales with the recommendation that he was “the best horse I have laid my hands on”, and he received a similarly glowing appraisal from Timeform after winning his three bumper starts for Gordon Elliott in the 2011/12 campaign, with the prediction in Chasers & Hurdlers being that Don Cossack would “make a big name for himself in the seasons to come”.
Admittedly, the son of Sholokhov took a little time to fulfil that early promise – he was only useful as a novice hurdler and then successful twice in seven outings, mostly in good company, as a novice chaser – but the sequence he put together after embarking on his second season over fences was much more like it, achieving a level of form that identified him as the best chaser in training for two years running.
Indeed, Don Cossack won ten of his last 11 completed starts over fences, five of which came at Grade 1 level, including a memorable success in the 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
Sadly, that Festival win proved to be Don Cossack’s final outing due to injury, but his place in history was already assured, standing alongside Night Nurse, Monksfield, Dawn Run, Desert Orchid, Istabraq, Moscow Flyer, Kauto Star and Altior on a very select list who have been Timeform Horse of the Year over jumps more than once in the Chasers & Hurdlers era.
2. Delta Work (168)
Delta Work couldn't emulate Don Cossack and win a Cheltenham Gold Cup but he still showed top-class form and earned a place in the affections of his trainer. “He has won five Grade 1s and is a great little horse,” Elliott said in 2020. “We are lucky to have him. He is not a big, robust horse, but he is a fair one – I love him.”
Those five Grade 1 wins included three as a novice chaser in 2018/19, with his only defeat that season coming in the RSA at Cheltenham, and he took his form to another level in open company in 2019/20. Though well beaten on his return at Down Royal, he quickly showed himself to be much better than that with back-to-back wins in the Savills Chase and the Irish Gold Cup.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsThat 2020 Irish Gold Cup was the last time Delta Work scored at Grade 1 level but he still registered another notable victory in the 2021/22 season, beating stablemate Tiger Roll in the Cross Country at the Cheltenham Festival before finishing a creditable third behind Noble Yeats and Any Second Now in the Grand National.
3. Tiger Roll (167)
Tiger Roll would undoubtedly be top of this list were it a popularity contest. Indeed, few horses have ever made their way into the affections of National Hunt fans as he has in recent years, with his back-to-back Grand National wins in 2018 and 2019 playing no small part in that.
His best performance came when readily defying a BHA mark of 159 to win the 2019 National, and, whilst not on the same level as staying greats such as Best Mate or Kauto Star, he was still a genuinely top-class chaser whose remarkable CV also featured five wins at the Cheltenham Festival.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsThere was certainly no finer advert for his trainer’s skills than what Tiger Roll achieved .
