The highlight of Elliott's afternoon was a two-and-a-quarter length defeat of Dan Skelton's The New Lion in the Aintree Hurdle, a result which confirmed the form of the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham last month.
The Gold Cup was one of the last races at the meeting to elude Willie Mullins until his first win in 2019. Now, he has five, joining Tom Dreaper, Arkle's trainer, as the co-holder of the all-time record, after Gaelic Warrior's relentless charge up the hill to an eight length success.
The first thing that quickly passes through your mind as the body starts to ache is 'how in Jaysus do horses do this on a daily basis and make it look so easy?' An extra pair of legs probably helps!
It's the same sort of logic and training routine. Animals are creatures of habit, you can't just click your fingers and it takes time. You've got to get them fit and build that fitness up, and prep them through their feeding and so on before the race.
We've had a look at a fresh line of the hurdle track right out beside the chase track, Graffin said on Friday. In my opinion, this line is currently fit to race despite 22mm of rain last night. However, we do have the potential for a further 10-20mm of rain. We would like to get a bit of luck with that, but it is currently fit to race.
Rassie Erasmus has described Ireland's rugby system as "precision farming" and the last year has shown how delicate the ecosystem is. All the analysis that followed the alarming defeats to France, New Zealand and South Africa remains valid and the issues that cropped up remain worthy of attention. Yet it all feels a little less alarming after a weekend where the senior side issued a stunning riposte to those who believed they are a beaten docket and the U-20s showed there's life in the pathways yet.
With pre-Cheltenham purdah fast approaching, the Ladbrokes Trophy Handicap Chase at Kempton on Saturday could well be the most competitive betting heat for the next two-and-a-half weeks and Emmet Mullins's decision to field two runners in the 13-strong field adds a further layer of complexity to the puzzle. Mullins has a well-earned reputation for sliding contenders into handicaps at Cheltenham and Aintree on very competitive marks, but his Kempton record three wins from five runners is not too shabby either.
