Gordon Elliott opened the Grand National meeting with a 15-1 Grade One double on Thursday and now plans a five-strong challenge for the Grand National on Saturday, when a fourth success in the world’s most famous steeplechase would give the trainer a share of the all-time record.
The highlight of Elliott’s afternoon was Brighterdaysahead’s two-and-a-quarter-length defeat of Dan Skelton’s The New Lion in the Aintree Hurdle, a result which confirmed the form of the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham last month, when the pair finished second and third. It was also a second course-and-distance success for Brighterdaysahead, who has yet to register a win at Cheltenham in three attempts.
