Ginto beats Eric Bloodaxe to land Grade Two Navan Novice Hurdle; Gordon Elliott's five-year-old cut to 12/1 for Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham Festival in March; trainer wins seven races in a row on Saturday card
Saturday 4 December 2021 16:09, UK
Gordon Elliott dominated at Navan on Saturday as the trainer landed seven victories in a row.
Ginto is two from two over hurdles after a runaway success in the Grade Two Navan Novice Hurdle under Jamie Codd.
Starting as the 11-8 favourite from a field of five runners, the five-year-old ran prominently through the two-and-a-half-mile contest and took up the lead over the third hurdle from home.
From there the gelding was comfortably able to pull away, striding clear of the Joseph O'Brien-trained Eric Bloodaxe to register an impressive 11-length victory.
"That was great, he's the horse we thought he was," Elliott said.
"He's a big galloper. From the second-last to the line is what I loved today, he just galloped. He's a good horse."
Ginto could now head for the Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle, a Grade One event run over the same trip in January.
"He'll get an entry for the race at Naas and we'll see," said Elliott.
"We'll have a chat with (owners) Noel and Valerie (Moran) and see what they want to do.
"He's a chaser in the making."
Betfair slashed the winner in price to 12-1 from 25-1 for the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.
Codd, meanwhile, was replacing Davy Russell, with Elliott adding: "He just sprained his wrist and he'll be all right."
After seeing Willie Mullins take the opener at Navan, Elliott sent out the next seven winners, including 1/4 favourite Riviere D'Etel in the Grade Three Klairon Davis Novice Chase.
