A recap of Gordon Elliott's seven winners at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival is just around corner, and despite the increasingly likely absence of thousands of boisterous fans, there’s still a lot to look forward to. The four-day Festival’s 14 Grade 1 races are more than enough to keep us entertained at home, and there’s no doubt that punters all across the UK and Ireland will already be examining the form guides and scavenging the internet for the most best Cheltenham odds.

Trainers are often enough to influence your decision when making your selections for the big races, and for many Gordon Elliott is the go-to. After all, He has won the Leading Training award twice in the last five years.

Last year, he looked set to retain the top trainer crown from Willie Mullins. However, four winners on the final day was just enough for Mullins to pip Elliott to the award on the basis of more placings.

With the Festival fast approaching once more, the same question is on everybody’s lips, ‘who is going to win the 2021 Leading Trainer?’ and it’ll come as no surprise that Mullins and Elliott are leading the way in the Cheltenham 2021 tips. So, as the pair prepare to go head-to-head again, let’s take a look at Elliott’s seven winners from last year!

Ravenhill

Elliott was made to wait until the final race of day one for his first winner and it came from an unlikely victor. Ravenhill was 12/1 heading into the Grade 2 Amateur Riders’ Novices’ Chase, but with over half the field not even finishing the race, he prevailed, beating Lord du Mesnil by just over two lengths.

Envoi Allen

Day two got off to a flyer for the Irish trainer, as Envoi Allen showed his class in the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle. The seven-year-old was the odds-on favourite and he duly delivered, winning the Grade 1 race by a rather comfortable four-and-a-quarter lengths. With three more victories since then, we’re sure Envoi Allen will be heavily fancied again at this year’s Festival.

Aramax

Aramax’s victory in the Grade 3 Juvenile Handicap Hurdle landed Elliott his second victory on day two of the Festival. At 15/2, Aramax was just behind the 5/1 joint-leaders in the pre-race market, and as they both pulled up, it was the five-year-old’s race to lose. But he asserted himself and went on to beat Night Edition by a length.

Samcro

It was another fantastic start to the day for Elliott, as Samcro won the day three opener, the Golden Miller Novices’ Chase. It was an incredibly tight race with Samcro, Melon and Faugheen racing towards the finish as one. However, the Elliott-trained horse had enough in the tank to get his nose over the line before the duo from Mullins’ yard.

Sire Du Berlais

Sire Du Berlais’ victory in the Grade 3 Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle made it back-to-back victories for Elliott. Despite winning the race in 2019, the JP McManus-owned horse was somewhat of an outsider last year at 10/1. However, he proved the bookies wrong, and held off his stablemate, The Storyteller, by half-a-length to defend his crown.

Milan Native

Elliott landed his third winner of the day in the closing race of day three, the Challenge Cup Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase. Milan Native set off as a 9/1 shot but was prominent throughout the race before taking the lead with two fences remaining. From there he stayed on strong and won the race by just over a length.

Chosen Mate

By the 4:50 Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase on the final day of the Festival, Elliott had fallen behind Mullins in the race for the Leading Trainer award. His Irish counterpart had won four of the previous five races to take him to seven victories. Chosen Mate’s victory in the Grade 3 race was enough to draw Elliott and Mullins level on seven winners. However, as we mentioned above, the latter took home the award for the seventh time in ten years on the basis of more placings.