Gerri Colombe to Skip Dublin Racing Festival for Cheltenham Gold Cup

Gordon Elliott trains Gerri Colombe. They will skip the Dublin Racing Festival to focus on the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. Last season, the horse narrowly missed victory in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase. Later, it won a Grade One race at Aintree.

This season, she started with a win over Envoi Allen in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal. But Gerri Colombe faced a setback. On Christmas, she finished a distant second to Galopin Des Champs in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown.

A potential rematch with Willie Mullins' top horse in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup will not happen. Elliott has decided to aim directly for Cheltenham. "Gerri Colombe probably won't run next weekend. "We'll go straight to Cheltenham with him," Elliott stated. He acknowledged the horse's subpar Christmas performance. He added, "He's grand and can attend all the spring festivals. Instead of returning for another slog, we'll go straight to Cheltenham and have Aintree and Punchestown afterwards."

Elliott's stable faces challenges. The horses, owned by Andrew and Gemma Brown of Caldwell Construction, are set for sale next month. This impacts Elliott's entries for the Dublin Racing Festival. It reduces his number of runners. Horses like Farren Glory, Conflated, and Found A Fifty will still compete, but overall participation will be lesser than usual.

A potential rematch with Willie Mullins' leading horse in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup will not occur, as Elliott has decided to aim directly for Cheltenham. "Gerri Colombe probably won't run next weekend. We'll go straight to Cheltenham with him," Elliott stated, acknowledging the horse's subpar performance at Christmas. He added, "He's grand and can go to all the spring festivals. Instead of going back for another slog, we'll go straight to Cheltenham and have Aintree and Punchestown afterwards."

Elliott's stable faces challenges as Caldwell Construction's horses, owned by Andrew and Gemma Brown, are set for sale next month. This development impacted Elliott's entries for the Dublin Racing Festival, reducing his number of runners. Horses like Farren Glory, Conflated, and Found A Fifty will still compete, but overall participation will be lesser than usual.