Colombe set to lead Elliott’s Champion Chase challenge

Gerri Colombe will lead a strong team for Gordon Elliott in Saturday’s Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal.

While the seven-year-old lost his unbeaten record at the Cheltenham Festival in March when beaten a short head by The Real Whacker, he gained some compensation in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree.

That victory took his record under rules to eight wins from nine outings, with three victories at the top level already.

Elliott has already stated this season is all about the Cheltenham Gold Cup and he feels this is the perfect starting point.

Stablemates Conflated and Delta Work are also likely to take their chance, with only six left in contention at Tuesday’s confirmation stage.

“We’ll definitely run two or three in it. It’s a Grade One race and you’ve got to support these races,” Elliott told the track.

“We’ll run Conflated, a Grade One winner last year, Gerri Colombe who did nothing wrong last year and we’ll probably run maybe Delta Work as well.

“It’s Gerri’s first run of the season, Cheltenham is the plan and we’re planning on maybe two runs before it. This looks the ideal one to start off in.”

Elliott also Galway Plate winner Ash Tree Meadow in contention.

A former Elliott inmate, Envoi Allen, now with Henry de Bromhead is a possible as is his stablemate, the 2021 Gold Cup winner Minella Indo.

He made a winning return to action at Punchestown recently where he had Delta Work and Conflated behind him.

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