Elliott in the mix for leading trainer at Cheltenham Festival

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was the leading trainer at the in 2017 and 2018 and is +225 with Bovada to win the title again this year. trained most winners at each fixture from 2013 to 2016 and last year, so Irish trainers have gone home with the trophy for the last seven years. The combined price for one of the two best Irish handlers to be the leading trainer at the 2020 Festival is about -333.33, so it's +250 the field.

Here is Elliott's career record of Cheltenham Festival winners:

2011 – two
2012 – none
2013 – one
2014 – one
2015 – one
2016 – three
2017 – six
2018 – seven
2019 – three

The breakdown of winners by type of race is as follows:

Hurdle – 13
Chase – six
Bumper – two
Cross Country – three

Elliott's only win in the four main championship races was with in the 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup. His two multiple-winning horses are Cause Of Causes (2015 National Hunt Chase, 2017 Cross Country Chase and 2018 Kim Muir Chase) and Tiger Roll (2014 Triumph Hurdle, 2017 National Hunt Chase and 2018 and 2019 Cross Country Chase). Tiger Roll has won the last two Grand Nationals and will head to again after attempting to win the Cross Country Chase for the third time in three years.

Tiger Roll is a clear favourite to win at Cheltenham again this year, but the latest odds suggest that horse is not Elliott's banker. is the trainer's shortest-priced potential runner at the Festival. The horse has won three times over hurdles and is almost certain to stay in novice company even though some online bookmakers have priced him for the Champion Hurdle. Envoi Allen could be backed into odds-on for the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle and looks a good thing for that race.

The stable star is still Tiger Roll, which has now won races at four Cheltenham Festivals. Elliott was happy with his horse's recent run over hurdles at Navan. The horse has only been cantering at home since January and there is plenty of improvement to come. Tiger Roll came out of his race in Ireland in fine shape and will be trying to win a third cross country race and fifth Festival race in . However, Cheltenham is a precursor to the horse's date with destiny in the National at Aintree.

Elliott's most prestigious winner at Cheltenham in March could be in the Gold Cup with Delta Work. The horse has only been beaten twice over fences, in the RSA Chase last year and when going lame at Down Royal earlier in the season. Delta Work got right into the Gold Cup picture by winning the Irish Gold Cup at the at at the start of February. The Racing Post Rating (RPR) in that race of 173 leaves the horse a few pounds below Gold Cup class, but there could be plenty of improvement when he faces the ultimate test.

Elliott has won both the Cross Country Chase and the National Hunt Chase three times, so these are numerically his best races at the Festival. Out Sam could join Tiger Roll in the cross country race but is not a leading contender at the current odds. Champagne Classic and Ravenhill look like starters in the National Hunt Chase. The trainer thinks Champagne Classic is made for the race, but his target could be the RSA Novice's Chase over a shorter distance.

Samcro won the Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle in 2018 and goes for the Marsh Novices' Chase this year. The horse has had a wind operation and that could have a good effect. He was beset by health problems last season and never produced a clean scope, which basically meant he had a cold or the flu. The trainer reports the horse has been working well at home. Good ground will be a positive and Elliott believes Samcro can produce his best form at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival.

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