Gordon Elliott talks up Borice as dark horse for Grand National follow-up

Gordon Elliott’s chance of winning another Grand National this season has been boosted by the arrival of a likely type from France. The trainer, who has already won the Aintree race twice in just 13 years with a licence, was keen to talk up the chance of the unheralded Borice when a party of journalists visited his yard here in County Meath on Wednesday.

“He ran in all the good staying chases in France and was hitting the crossbar in a few of them,” the 40-year-old mused. “I just think he could be an English National type of horse. He’s got a lot of experience and a change of scenery might suit him. He’s turned inside out since he came over to us. I think he’s a nice horse.”

Borice was so far below the radar in Britain and Ireland that no bookmaker quoted him in their lists for the Grand National until Elliott spoke. He has now been introduced as a 66-1 shot and most punters will understandably want to see him race before taking an interest.

Previously based north of Bordeaux with Francois Nicolle, Borice has failed to win since June last year but has shown plenty of ability, including when a close third in a Grade Three at Auteuil in April. As he’s a seven-year-old with plenty of size about him, Elliott hopes there will be improvement to come.

Elliott does not seem to hold out much hope of a repeat victory in the National by Tiger Roll, who clung on by a head in the big race in April. “It’ll be a massive ask, he’s probably going to have close to top weight. But he’ll run it and he’ll have a good, sporting, each-way chance. To be honest, the cross-country race at the Cheltenham Festival will be his Gold Cup.”

It seems there is no shortage of Aintree candidates at Elliott’s base north-west of Dublin. Off the top of his head, he listed his other possible entrants as Bless The Wings, Monbeg Notorious, Don Poli, Noble Endeavour, Mala Beach, Woods Well, Folsom Blue, Space Cadet, Outlander and Ucello Conti.

Two of those, Don Poli and Noble Endeavour, are expected to get a taste of the famous course when they line up in Saturday’s Becher Chase, which will mark a return to action for both after 20 months on the sidelines. Elliott appeared especially keen to get Don Poli, a dual Festival winner, going again after a successful schooling session over National-type fences at The Curragh on Tuesday.

“He looks great. He’s a class horse. He might need the run this weekend but he’s been schooling well, so we’re very happy with him. He got a leg after the Gold Cup, we just had to leave him but if you’d actually felt his leg you wouldn’t have known the difference.

“He’s in great order, so he is. He’d be the best I’ve ever entered in an English National. But it depends what way you’re weighted. The best horse doesn’t always win it.”

Noble Endeavour is said to have had “niggly problems” rather than one significant injury and there are still hopes that the nine-year-old has another big day in him. But Elliott wondered aloud if he might be an “in between” horse, not good enough for the very best races but too high in the weights to land a major handicap.

Elliott raised some eyebrows when mentioning in passing that Samcro would have “a lot of different entries” for the Cheltenham Festival. However he then ruled out the possibility of those entries being for races over fences and appears determined to keep the horse on the Champion Hurdle path, despite a surprisingly thorough defeat in the Fighting Fifth on Saturday.

“If I knew the Buveur D’Air that turned up on Saturday was going to be the Buveur D’Air that ran in Cheltenham last year, we mightn’t be running in the Champion Hurdle,” Elliott said, somewhat ruefully. “But that’s the way life is and when you make a decision, you have to go with it and stand by it. And that’s where we are. End of story.”

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