Despite Gordon Elliott saddling a superb 41,276-1 'Super Sunday' six-timer at Navan he says he has "no chance" of ending Willie Mullins's nine-year reign as Ireland's champion National Hunt trainer this season.
Sunday's remarkable achievement in winning six of the seven races at Navan took the locally based trainer close to €1.9 in prizemoney in Ireland for the current campaign, stretching the lead over his great rival to almost half a million euro.
The winners included Empire Of Dirt in the featured €100,000 Ladbrokes Troytown Chase and Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary also saw his Gigginstown Stud colours carried by three other winners, Death Duty, Bull Ride and Three Swallowsnick who brought up Elliott's the six-timer in the finale.
Elliott's two other winners, Brelade and Jury Duty, were ridden by 17-year-old jockey, Jack Kennedy. The only race Elliott failed to win was the Beginners Chase won by the Mullins trained Min.
“It’s unbelievable and we’ll enjoy it. I had seven winners in one day before but they were between two meetings at Bellewstown and Perth (last year.) To have six in one day here, and in good races, is lucky,” said the 38-year-old trainer based in Longwood.
Bookmakers immediately cut the odds on Elliott becoming champion trainer for the first time to as low as 6-4 but he said he “no chance” of dethroning the man who has been jump racing’s dominant figure for a decade.
Mullins and other legendary names such as Dermot Weld and Aidan O'Brien have saddled five winners on a single card in the past but Elliott's Navan six-timer is believed to be a singular achievement in modern racing history in Ireland.
Elliott, who shot to fame when Silver Birch won the Aintree Grand National in 2007, has catapulted through the training ranks since and has been steadily closing the gap on Mullins in the trainer’s table in recent years.
He achieved Gold Cup glory with the O'Leary owned star, Don Cossack, at Cheltenham last March and benefited further when Gigginstown removed 60 horses from Mullins's stables in September after a dispute over training fees.
“I’m very lucky. I just try to keep my feet on the ground, say nothing, and let the results do the talking,” Elliott said. “It’s been one of those days. I thought we had plenty of chances but six winners is unbelievable.”
