Gordon Elliott has kept the option of giving Brighterdaysahead her eagerly anticipated first start over fences at Gowran on Saturday.
The Gigginstown Stud-owned star is one of 10 entries left in a Mares Beginners Chase after Tuesday’s acceptance stage.
Brighterdaysahead hasn’t been seen in action since finishing only third at the Punchestown festival last Spring, an effort that came on the back of a fourth in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Her best form over flights, though, came last Christmas when she routed State Man by 30 lengths at Leopardstown. She had beaten the same rival before that in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown.
RM Block
Brightherdayshaead is already a general 5-1 shot for the Mares Chase at Cheltenham in March. Only the 2025 winner of that race, Dinoblue, is in advance of her in the betting.
This weekend could also mark a return to action for the Punchestown Grade One winner Champ Kiely in Naas on Sunday. He has been left in the Barberstown Castle Chase over two miles. Also left in the Grade Three contest are his stable companion Ile Atlantique and former Cheltenham festival winner Inthepocket.
Elliott has also left his former Albert Bartlett winner Stellar Story in Haydock’s Betfair Chase, which will be run later this month.
A total of 16 entries are left in Britain’s first Grade One race of the season, including last year’s one-two, Royalle Pagaille and Grey Dawning. Just three other Irish-trained horses, Spillane’s Tower, Jordans and Intense Raffles remain in the mix.
Before that, Jagwar could earn his ticket to the highest level in the Paddy Power Gold Cup.
The Cheltenham festival winner will remain in handicap company for his next start, but the JP McManus-owned runner’s performance there could dictate the rest of his campaign.
“He’s good, he looks fantastic, had a good gallop the other day and he’s ready to go for two weeks’ time at Cheltenham for the Paddy Power Gold Cup,” part-trainer Josh Guerriero said.
“He seems to like it there [at Cheltenham]. It’s a competitive handicap so we can’t be too confident, but he will go there, we know he’ll like it so fingers crossed. If he jumps and goes in a good rhythm, he’ll have a good chance.
“We like to think he’s improved again, to look at, physically, he has, so fingers crossed we can win a couple of races and just improve all season again.
“If he wins that easy and goes up 10lb then all of a sudden you are in open company and all the big races, so it all depends on how we get on in the first couple of races,” he added.
In other news, the 2025 Pat Smullen Race Day and the Curragh to Curragh Charity Cycle have raised €351,631 for Cancer Trials Ireland. It brings the total funds generated since the initiative began in 2022 to more than €1.2 million.
The race day run at the Curragh on August 30th featured 22 riders taking to the track to remember the former nine-times champion jockey who died in 2020 of pancreatic cancer, aged 43.
Funds raised have directly supported the establishment of the Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer at University College Dublin, held by Prof Gráinne O’Kane.
