Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy on their best chances at Punchestown - 'She just takes off' Trainer Gordon Elliott has described Punchestown 'like nowhere else in the world' and is confident he has a few winners lined up as he continues his battle for the trainers’ championship. Elliott’s number one jockey, Jack Kennedy, began riding out for Elliott before he was 16 and the two have a renowned close working relationship. “There can be a few bollockings and sometimes it can get heated, but if you don’t get heated, you shouldn’t be doing what we’re doing,” Elliott said about Jack. “But I don’t think we have ever had a row in 10 or 11 years. We’ve had a few ups and downs, like any walk of life but I think we get on pretty well.” The successful duo look ahead to next week’s chances: TEAHUPOO (Ladbrokes Champion Stayers’ Hurdle) Gordon: We’re really looking forward to this. We’ve got TEAHUPOO (going for the three-in-a-row). I’m thinking about putting some headgear on him — whether it’s blinkers or cheekpieces I’m not quite sure. And HONESTY POLICY ran a great race at Cheltenham and at Aintree. He was unlucky not to be second as he got caught up in traffic turning in. Jack: In the main part of the race, Teahupoo probably just goes to sleep a little bit. The race kind of got away on him a bit (at Cheltenham) so the headgear would just help me in that part of the race to travel a bit better. Gordon: I wouldn’t say he’s ungenuine. He’s just gone so laidback and the problem with them staying races is if the pace drops half-way through a race and you get out of it, it’s hard to get back into it. He loves going around Punchestown too, which is a help. WODHOOH (SBK Irish EBF Mares’ Champion Hurdle) Gordon: She goes for the Mares’ Hurdle. She’s been a superstar. She’s 10 out of 11 now over hurdles. She’s not fancy at home. When you look at her on the gallop, she just does what she has to do, but we’re lucky to have her. Jack:Maybe later than mid-way in her races, she can hit a little bit of a flat spot and you’re kind of thinking, ‘I don’t know how well I’m going here,’ and she just takes off. Gordon: She does it nearly every run. That’s maybe why she’s so good, because she’s so laidback. LADBROKES PUNCHESTOWN GOLD CUP Gordon: FIREFOX got a cut in the Grand National so he won’t run. We’ll see how GERRI COLOMBE is this week before we make our mind up. Unfortunately he galloped the whole way round after he fell in the National, which wasn’t ideal. NOVICE HURDLERS Gordon: EL CAIROS will definitely run in the PRL Champion Novice Hurdle. The race didn’t work out at all at Cheltenham for any of the Irish horses — it was a very funny race. It was one of them things that baffle you. If he’d have finished fifth and there were Irish horses in second, third and fourth, I’d have been pulling the hair out of my head wondering how did he run so bad. But he was the first home of the Irish and I don’t know what happened that day. The English jumped off and were gone. We were four or five lengths behind them and we didn’t get any nearer. Jack: It’s hard to put your finger on it but I still maintain he’s better than that anyway. Gordon: The ground will suit him too. We’ll run one of the other two. The race was over at the start for SKYLIGHT HUSTLE, got kicked at the start and ran very, very free. It was over after two hurdles. He ran clean away. Whether he’ll go for this or the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle over two and a half on Friday, we’ll see. KOKTAIL BRUT bled at Christmas but has run some very good races since and won at Fairyhouse. Like Skylight Hustle, he has the two-and-a-half-mile option as well. We’ll have three or four in the Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle over three miles. KAZANSKY, GENERAL RISK and SPINNINGAYARN could be the three though we can’t be definite at this stage. SPINNINGAYARN ran a very good race in the Albert Bartlett to be fifth, especially with the ground the way it was there. If it’s well watered and they always do a good job with the ground at Punchestown, he could be a good spin. And he’s won at Punchestown this year. NOVICE CHASERS Gordon: We could run WESTERN FOLD in the Dooley Insurance Champion Novice Chase but I don’t know if he stays three miles. I think two and a half might really be his trip. KALA CONTI, I think she wasn’t going to be far away at Aintree when she came down at the third-last. Whether we go for this or the Barberstown Castle Novice Chase over two miles, I don’t know. I think she’d stay three miles, we could take our time and hunt away but that will be something I’ll discuss with Jack during the week, and with the owners. Jack: She’d been kind of behind the bridle the whole way at Aintree and was just after getting going (when falling). We wouldn’t have been far away. RACE & STAY AT PUNCHESTOWN INH FLAT RACE Gordon: We’ll run two or three in it. I think CHARISMATIC KID has done enough this year but I’d say we will run LOW KICK, SOUL ASYLUM and WITH NOLIMIT. WITH NOLIMIT finished ninth at Cheltenham but he was only beaten four lengths, you know? He wasn’t beaten far.
