Trainer Gordon Elliott © Photo Healy Racing
Gordon Elliott came close to creating racing history at Down Royal today and while Firefox 's concluding Freixenet INH Bumper success gave the trainer a second career six-timer, was thwarted in one race with a third-place finisher.
The trainer's one-time employer Martin Pipe failed during his attempts in the 1990s to 'go through the card' in the UK and while Elliott trained six winners at Navan's 2016 Troytown Chase Day, had poor representation for his 'bogey' race.
Today Elliott bagged the opening four races and while he ran three horses in the 2.37pm handicap chase, found the bunker despite Irish Blaze finishing third. Found A Fifty resumed Elliott's winning ways and in the finale Firefox won readily under Harry Swan.
Elliott reported "I am lucky to be in the position I am in with the horses that I have and the staff and the owners and the jockeys.
“It is not easy to do it (six winners on a card) so it is a brilliant day."
Regarding Firefox he added “we like him, he's a lovely horse and he'll go jumping now. I was planning to go jumping at the moment but when the other horse (The Yellow Clay) wasn't right this morning, I ran him.
"I'd say we will go hurdling now but the (Grade 1) Royal Bond will probably come a bit quick."
As an aside to the concluding race, The Yellow Clay's early-morning withdrawal - due to being 'off feed' at 7.57am, will have hit some bookmakers due to a kink of the 'Rule 4' system. The resulting 45% deduction means Firefox's overnight followers are paid at approximately 1/2 for a horse which returned 1/6f.
Quotes from Michael Graham
