ENVOI’S SPECIAL MISSION
ENVOI ALLEN is now as short as 5-4 for Cheltenham’s Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle after defending his unbeaten record in handsome style at Naas yesterday.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned six-yearold, now seven from seven under Rules after landing odds of 1-4 in the Grade One Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle, will receive an entry in the Champion Hurdle at the National Hunt Festival on 10 March.
“He’ll probably have three entries – the Ballymore, the Supreme Novices’ and the Champion Hurdle – so we have all our options covered,” said Envoi Allen’s trainer
Gordon Elliott. “We’ll discuss it with the owners but my own feeling is that we’ll keep him in his own grade at the moment.”
Tackling two and a half miles for the first time, Envoi Allen and Davy Russell challenged the Willie Mullins-trained leader Elixir D’Ainay at the second-last flight before surging clear to score by three and a half lengths.
“We never expected him to win any more than a couple of lengths because, if you look at all his runs, when he gets there he just does what he has to do,” added Elliott.
“Davy said he would learn plenty. We haven’t killed him in work since he ran the last day and he was having a proper blow after the race. For me, that’s encouraging.
“He’ll be entered in everything in the Dublin Festival [at Leopardstown on 1-2 February], but it wouldn’t be a shock if he went straight to Cheltenham.” Russell, whose mount is just 5-1 for the Champion Hurdle with Betfred – he is William Hill’s 3-1 favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – added: “He can do everything.
“It was a true test – a good, solid race. My horse will need to keep improving, and he has.”