ELLIOTT'S ‘HORSE OF A LIFETIME'

Karl Hedley sees Envoi Allen power on

- Karl Hedley

With the jumps season well and truly underway in Ireland, there have been some quality performances since my last piece, not least from Envoi Allen, the one Gordon Elliott calls his “horse of a lifetime’. More on Envoi later, first some insights into how connections viewed other runners.

A small but select field lined up for the Clonmel Chase, a Grade Two event run over two-and-a-half miles. Willie Mullins trained the first two in the market, but it was Bachasson who got the better of his more fancied stablemate Cilaos Emery in the closing stages.

Given a power-packed ride from the front, the nine-year-old and partner David Mullins set about making all in this feature race. Despite an error at the third fence where their lead was reduced temporarily, the pair went on again four from home and stayed on strongest of all to keep their rivals at bay.

Mullins said: “He was very brave and David had lots of confidence in him – I thought he had gone too far out, but he had more confidence in the horse than I had. Paul thought Cilaos Emery needed the run and I am happy with both horses. After Bachasson got a fall at Cheltenham last season, I wasn’t keen to go back over fences with him, but around these country tracks he is fine. I didn’t look beyond today and we wanted to come down here and see where we are with them.”

The pair of them often blend their races between hurdles and fences, so it will come as little surprise should the trainer continue along that path with both likely to be aimed back at Cheltenham in the spring.