Death Duty and Wings to star for Elliott on big day

All the talk before Sunday's Navan meeting surrounds the kitchen sink, dishwasher, fridge, blender and everything else being thrown by Gordon Elliott in his bid to land this year's Ladbrokes Troytown Handicap Chase. It's worth noting that not only does he have 11 runners in that race, he has a total of 27 runners in total at the meeting. Staggering stuff.

The assault should bring its rewards, beginning in the Grade 3 'Monksfield' Novice Hurdle (12.40), where the stable is double-handed in a high-quality renewal and the one most likely to bring it home is Death Duty.

The trainer has not been shy in offering his opinion of how good he thinks Death Duty could be and the five-year-old has not done anything yet to let down that view. His bumper form was progressive last season, only finding subsequent Grade 1 winner Blow By Blow too good for him at Fairyhouse, and his hurdling debut on deep ground at Roscommon last month could not have gone much more smoothly as he beat a reasonable yardstick without coming out of second gear. This won't be easy but he looks the part and should take all the beating.