Trainer gordon elliott arrives at the Cheltenham Festival with what he calls his most powerful team in almost a decade, headlined by Brighterdaysahead, Teahupoo and a returning Wodhooh, and backed by 146 early entries. The optimism collides with two stubborn facts: a single win at last year’s meeting and a still-vacant Champion Hurdle on Elliott’s record.
Brighterdaysahead, Teahupoo and Wodhooh headline Elliott’s strongest squad since 2018
Elliott describes an “electric” squad led by Champion Hurdle contender Brighterdaysahead and Stayers’ Hurdle favourites Teahupoo and Honesty Policy. He also points to depth: younger talents such as El Cairos, Ballyfad and Skylight Hustle; reliable types like Western Fold; and handicap hopes including Favori De Champdou. Jack Kennedy heads a strong jockey team. Elliott says 2018 was the last time he travelled to the Cotswolds with comparable firepower.
Twelve months ago he stood on the brink of leaving the meeting winless until Wodhooh’s last-race strike in the Martin Pipe, a result he described as emotionally draining. Wodhooh returns for a go at the Mares’ Hurdle, influencing where other stable stars might line up. On Tuesday’s opening card, Elliott’s intended runners include El Cairos in the Supreme alongside Koktail Brut, with Brighterdaysahead positioned as a leading player in the Champion Hurdle.
Beyond headline races, Elliott’s entry volume underscores the scale of his ambition: 146 early entries travel across the Irish Sea, including Teahupoo and Favori De Champdou. It aligns with his belief that the yard has rebuilt to a level last seen during his leading-trainer titles in 2017 and 2018.
Champion Hurdle gap: Brighterdaysahead’s promise versus Golden Ace and Lossiemouth
Here lies the clearest tension. Elliott has never won the Champion Hurdle, and Brighterdaysahead finished fourth in last year’s running. Yet she enters this Festival after beating Lossiemouth at Leopardstown in early February and is viewed within the yard as a major hope. She holds entries in two races — the Unibet Champion Hurdle and the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle — but Wodhooh’s presence in the Mares’ Hurdle shapes expectations that Brighterdaysahead focuses on the Champion Hurdle.
Competition remains stern. Dan Skelton’s The New Lion and Willie Mullins’ Lossiemouth are significant threats, while Golden Ace stands as the defending Champion Hurdle winner and has twice defeated Brighterdaysahead at Cheltenham. Those facts frame a documented gap between Elliott’s bullish outlook and the race-day evidence that has so far eluded him in this division.
Elliott acknowledges Brighterdaysahead’s mixed Festival record, noting two prior defeats at Cheltenham, though he draws confidence from her success in Britain at Aintree. That stance underlines the stable’s belief in her ability to travel and compete, while leaving open the question of whether that form can finally translate into a first Elliott win in the Champion Hurdle.
Gigginstown, O’Leary partnership and Gordon Elliott’s bid to reset the narrative
Elliott’s longer arc presents a second pattern behind the optimism. He has 41 previous Cheltenham winners, with almost half delivered for Michael and Eddie O’Leary. Brighterdaysahead, owned by Gigginstown House Stud, again places the O’Leary axis at the core of his challenge. The trainer’s expectation of “a couple of winners” with some luck echoes that history of high-quality firepower sourced from familiar patrons.
His strengths at Cheltenham also show up away from the Champion Hurdle. In the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, Elliott shares the record of five wins, with victories by Cause of Causes in 2017, Tiger Roll in 2018 and 2019, and Delta Work in 2022 and 2023. He targets Favori De Champdou to extend that record this year, supported by further entries such as The Goffer, Conflated, Chemical Energy and Pied Piper. The contrast is documented: dominance in a specialist event on one hand, and an unfinished quest in the Champion Hurdle on the other.
Last year’s one-win haul — secured in the final race — sits unavoidably beside this season’s confidence. Elliott cites a string of near-misses and placed efforts as evidence the underlying form was stronger than the scoreboard suggested. For gordon elliott, this Festival tests whether a broader and deeper team can convert belief into the top-level results that eluded him 12 months ago and still elude him in hurdling’s flagship race.
The clearest resolving data point will come from the Champion Hurdle entry and outcome for Brighterdaysahead. If she lands the Unibet Champion Hurdle, it would establish that Elliott’s resurgence extends into the one major hurdle race his record does not yet include, closing the most persistent gap in his Cheltenham profile.
