Ground to determine if Don wears headgear Gordon Elliott feels the Cheltenham ground will help to determine whether Don Cossack will wear cheekpieces in next month's Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup. Rated the best staying chaser in Britain and Ireland last season, he still had every chance in the King George in December when falling at the second-last. Headgear has been mooted by connections, but Elliott believes he would only need assistance on soft ground. "I've been honest with everyone. I'm waiting to see what the ground is going to be like," Elliott told At The Races. "The better the ground is, the less the chance he'll be wearing cheekpieces. I just think he's a better horse on better ground and if it came up heavy, you'd have to say he might struggle on his last couple of years of form. "Everyone has got an opinion. He's won six Grade Ones now. He's the best horse I've ever trained and I wouldn't swap him for many. "There won't be many horses going to Cheltenham who have won six Grade Ones."
