AN audio clip has emerged of Gordon Elliott telling Nick Luck his best handicapped Cheltenham Festival entry.
The weights were revealed for the nine handicap races today.
Gordon Elliott’s best handicapped horse in the Cheltenham Festival handicaps this year?
Take note of this contender in the Ultima, says the Irish handler speaking to @nickluck on loudspeaker at @CheltenhamRaces today! @TheJockeyClub pic.twitter.com/GLu53xn5nd
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 1, 2022
Horses carry different weights in handicaps, with better horses tending to carry more weight and those not so good carrying less in an attempt to even them up.
A punter’s priority is figuring out which horse could be ahead of his mark – in other words, carrying less weight than he should.
Three-time Grand National winner Elliott, 43, told Luck of his best fancy at a Cheltenham lunch today.
Video of the conversation was posted on the Racing TV Twitter page.
In it, Elliott, who was speaking to Luck on loudspeaker, said: “Looking at it quickly, the best handicapped of mine is Death Duty in the Ultima.
“Everything else seems to have 4-6lb more, but I understand the handicapper has his job to do.”
Death Duty, an 11-year-old gelding owned by Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud, won his most recent race at Punchestown last month.
He comfortably saw off Champagne Platinum by three lengths in the Hollywoodbets Grand National Trial Handicap Chase over 3m4f on heavy.
Death Duty was clipped from around 16-1 to 12-1, with Kim Bailey’s Does He Know the general 7-1 favourite for the handicap chase.
A word of warning though – Elliott has never won the Ultima.
He has done just about everything else at Prestbury Park, including sharing the record for most winners at one Festival (eight) with Willie Mullins.
But it is with his handicap hurdlers that he has been arguably the most impressive.
If you had backed all his runners in the handicap hurdles since 2010 you would be more than £60 up from £1 level stakes.