Teahupoo and Jack Kennedy© Photo Healy Racing
Teahupoo is bidding to land the Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle for a third successive year at Fairyhouse tomorrow, but Gordon Elliott believes chief market rival Lossiemouth is going to be very hard to beat.
The Robcour-owned gelding has accounted for the likes of Honeysuckle and Impaire Et Passe in landing this Grade 1 for the past two years and is reported in good form for his seasonal debut.
“It looks a very good race. I suppose Lossiemouth is going to be very hard to beat getting 7lb off us over two and a half miles, but we’ll do our best and our horse is in good form,” said Elliott.
“It’s good to see good horses taking each other on. We’ll do our best but I think Lossiemouth is going to be very hard to beat.”
The Cullentra trainer is strongly represented in the other Grade 1 on the card, the Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase, with stable number one Jack Kennedy taking the mount on Firefox.
Elliott saddles four of the six runners in this 2m4f event and added, “Croke Park started off very good last year and was then a bit disappointing but he’d a good start back over fences in Fairyhouse.
“Firefox has done nothing wrong as a hurdler and was very good in Down Royal.
“Stellar Story only ran last week and it’s probably not ideal running him back so quickly but if the ground turned up soft, we could let him take his chance.
“Shecouldbeanything just keeps winning. She’s not fancy at home but if she could get some black type over fences it would be brilliant.”
Elliott has two strong contenders in the Grade 2 Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle and commented: “Romeo Coolio and Bleu De Vassy are two very good horses. Bleu De Vassy has a penalty so that probably moved Jack in the other direction.
“I loved the way Bleu De Vassy went from the last to the line at Navan. Romeo’s bumper form was better, but you would have to be impressed by what Bleu De Vassy did the last day.
“Romeo seems to be in good form and I’m happy with him.”
