Gordon Elliott loading up for Champion Chase at Down Royal

Gerri Colombe made a successful start to last season in Northern Ireland before going on to finish second to Galopin Des Champs in Leopardstown’s Savills Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The eight-year-old rounded off his campaign with victory in the Aintree Bowl and following a summer break, he will head back to Down Royal on November 2 alongside stablemate Conflated, who unseated Jack Kennedy at the first fence in the BetVictor Chase at Punchestown on Wednesday.

“Gerri Colombe and Conflated will both run and I’ll probably run three or four,” said Elliott.

“Gerri Colombe is at a similar stage to last year. He’s in good nick and ready to start, but there will be plenty of improvement in him.

“He’s a very unassuming horse who doesn’t show much at home, but they’re the ones that you want.”

The Cullentra handler hopes Gerri Colombe can take his game to another level this term ahead of a likely rematch with Galopin Des Champs further down the line.

He added: “He was only beaten a couple of lengths in the Gold Cup last season. The best horse won on the day, so there was no excuse, but I do think we could have been a bit closer, as the loose horse didn’t help us coming down the hill.

“If he improves a bit from last season to this season, you never know – we are in the mix.

“He is a very honest horse, he’s not the quickest in the world and he always takes a run to improve, but he’s a good horse.

“We’ll need a bit of rain (at Down Royal), but there is some forecast this week, so we should be all right.”