Tico© Photo Healy Racing
Gordon Elliott has had to shuffle his jockey arrangements in recent days due to the back injury suffered by Davy Condon and the Grand National-winning trainer has secured the services of Barry Geraghty at Navan on what is a busy day for his team.
Condon suffered three fractured vertebrae in a fall last Sunday and is out of action for some months, leaving Elliott to book Geraghty for each of the six jumps races at the Co Meath venue.
Elliott runs nine horses in total, but Geraghty's presence on Tico in the Racing Again Sat 27th Sept Handicap Hurdle represents one of his better opportunities of the day.
The handler said: "Tico had his first run for us when second at Downpatrick the last day and might be our best chance. He will like the more galloping track at Navan.
"With Davy injured we will be using the best available, so we will be using Barry Geraghty and Davy Russell. Bryan Cooper is also due back quite soon and he is another we will use, given his Gigginstown job.
"I run a nice bumper horse (Mr Steadfast in the Follow Navan Racecourse On Twitter INH Flat Race) and while he will come on a lot for the run, we like him a lot."
Regarding his Crown Theatre in the navanracecourse.ie Maiden Hurdle, Elliott added: "He travels well in his races but doesn't seem to find an awful lot off the bridle. It looks a good race and we'd be happy if he sneaked into a place."
Dermot Weld runs Tandem who was a costly beaten favourite at Galway, and the gelding is entitled to hold leading claims despite the presence of the Aidan O'Brien-trained Egyptian Warrior
Tandem could finish only third on his hurdling bow, but the form of the race has worked out well and he may hold an edge over the JP McManus-owned Egyptian Warrior, who is rated 92 on the Flat but makes his hurdles debut.
In the Irish Stallion Farms EBF (Mares) Hurdle, jockey Mark Enright returns to jumps racing following a spell on the sidelines and has sound prospects aboard Icy Reply
Enright, who injured a knee at the Galway Festival and missed all of August, returned to race-riding at Laytown on Thursday and switches back to the jumps on Dessie Hughes's mare, who herself narrowly lost out when second at that same Festival.
