2000 UK and Irish winners for Gordon Elliott
Gordon Elliott
Jumps trainer Gordon Elliott passed the 2000 mark for British and Irish winners. Ted Hastings took him over the magic 2000 with a victory at Ayr.
Jumps trainer Gordon Elliott was toasting a 2000th winner in Britain and Ireland after Ted Hastings took victory at Ayr.
The controversial figure Eliott survived a photo scandal and returned to training and now has crossed the 2000 mark after 13/8 favourite Ted Hastings cruised to a seven and a half lengths over Maifalki in Scotland.
Elliott told Racing TV: "It's great and a big credit to all the staff and the owners, my family and the whole team I have around me.
"It's nice to get it for Aidan (Ryan, owner). He's been patient with this horse. He's galloped like a nice horse at home, but things haven't worked out. We said we'd bring him here and go left-handed.
"There's been a lot of water gone under the bridge since then, but Arresting was my first ever winner (at Perth in 2006, ridden by Richard Johnson) and it's great to be back in Scotland to have my 2,000th winner.
"I love coming racing to these tracks, they look after us second to none."
The achievement is all the more significant as Elliott doesn't come from one of the traditional Irish racing dynasties as his family had no real link to racing.
A first Aintree Grand National win came in 2007 with Silver Birch and he became world famous thanks to the exploits of the legendary Tiger Roll who added a couple more Nationals in 2018 and 2019.
He added: "I'm just the name on the licence and I have a whole team behind me.
"It was a bit frustrating for the last couple of days as I thought I had it (2,000th winner), then someone said there was the horse disqualified and I was counting the winners I had in America.
"It's unbelievable. To be standing here today, I think we're in the top four or five of all-time Cheltenham winners. The owners have backed me up with these owners, and the staff - all the thanks has to go to them.
"I suppose Tiger Roll winning the second Grand National was very special and Don Cossack winning the Gold Cup. They're all important to me, whether it's winners in Downpatrick or Listowel or Newton Abbot or Perth, I just love training winners and that's what I get up to do every morning.
"That's all I care about in life is having winners and I just hope I can keep doing it."
