Gordon Elliott with the apple of his eye Don Cossack© Photo Healy Racing
Gordon Elliott is confident Don Cossack can cap his fantastic season by clinching gold in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham on Thursday.
The County Meath maestro has never made any secret of the high regard in which he holds the imposing eight-year-old and he has certainly come of age this season, racking up four victories on the spin.
Don Cossack bids to give Ryanair and Gigginstown House Stud supremo Michael O'Leary a first victory in the race he sponsors and Elliott is anticipating a bold show.
He said: "He's been very good this year, he's finishing his races out a lot stronger. He's a short enough price, but he's entitled to be."
Jockey Bryan Cooper is in similarly bullish mood, telling At The Races: "Don Cossack's form is rock-solid and you still have people picking bits to fault him about, but he's still a dual Grade One winner. We're really looking forward to him."
Don Cossack spearheads a formidable Irish challenge in the two-mile-five-furlong Grade One.
The Ted Walsh-trained Foxrock was touted as a potential Cheltenham Gold Cup contender following a narrow reverse at the hands of Tony McCoy and Carlingford Lough in the Hennessy at Leopardstown, but was instead supplemented for this shorter event.
"I didn't think about Cheltenham after he got beat at Christmas and then he won the Leopardstown Chase well," said Walsh.
"He went back and ran a cracker in the Hennessy and Barry (Connell, owner) said we should think about Cheltenham and maybe the Gold Cup. The more I thought about it, it's really an afterthought and I don't think you can go to Cheltenham with all guns blazing as an afterthought.
"But at the same time, the Ryanair would be a more realistic one to run a really good race in. He's won over two-five and if you met those horses at home, you'd expect to run well against them. That's where he's going and it's probably the lesser of two evils."
Shark Hanlon's stable star Hidden Cyclone appeared bound for the Champion Chase following success in the Tied Cottage at Punchestown in early February, but steps back up in distance for a race in which he chased home the sidelined Dynaste 12 months ago.
Hanlon said: "The problem I had with the horse last year was that he wasn't settling, he pulled his way through the Ryanair the whole way. We've done a lot of work with him at home and he's learning to put his mind together and settles much better.
"I can't say he didn't get home in the Ryanair last year, none of the horses behind us got any nearer so I'd say he stays up the hill. If he settles this year it will be a big help for Andrew (McNamara) to climb the hill again.
"I think the horse I'm most afraid of is Nicky Henderson's mare (Ma Filleule). Barry (Geraghty) is very bullish about her and he's never too far wrong, but it's an open race with no Dynaste, Al Ferof or Cue Card."
