Gordon Elliott unsure on Cheltenham Festival with Don Cossack
Gordon Elliott believes that it might not be a good idea to send Don Cossack in the Cheltenham Festival, despite him being rated as one of the top contenders for winning the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle.
The six-year-old gelding has not appeared in any race during 2013, but he will be seen in action pretty soon. He has got a very good record in hurdles, but there is a chance that he could do well in chase events too.
He has participated in a total of six races, winning four of them, which shows that he has go a very good winning percentage. He started off his career in 2011, but was unable to make a strong impression back then.
The German stallion had to compete against some fierce challengers and ended up in fifth place overall. However, he did not choke under pressure and did a fantastic job for his team afterwards.
Sholokhov’s son managed to win four back-to-back events, making his team proud. He was rated as the outright favourite to succeed in his most recent event, but took a heavy fall in the end, which disappointed his fans.
He has been on a break since then, but there have been no serious injuries to him, which is the positive news. His team will be looking forward to a strong comeback from him in the coming events.
According to his trainer, Elliott, “I initially gave him a two-week break, but he is back hacking steadily and looks fine. He is still a big raw horse, and although we love to have runners at the Cheltenham Festival it is not the be all and end all and it
is possible we may not go down that route this year. Chasing will be his game when he could be special.”
Don Cossack might not be going to the Cheltenham Festival, but Elliot has got a few other good options like Cause of Causes. He said, “I would think he will go to Newbury next for the Betfair Hurdle and then all roads lead to Cheltenham. One thing I have
learnt in my short time as a trainer is that at the Cheltenham Festival the one ingredient every horse must have in handicaps is experience and this fellow has plenty.”
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