How Gordon Elliott transformed Irish jump racing in an incredible decade

Just ten years ago Gordon Elliott had trained fewer than 100 winners and, although one of those was Silver Birch’s extraordinary victory in the 2007 Grand National, none was at Grade 1 level.

The top-level breakthrough came nine years ago this month when Jessies Dream won the Drinmore Chase at Fairyhouse after the Willie Mullins-trained Mikael D’Haguenet handed him the race with a last-fence fall. Jessies Dream had joined Elliott from Mullins two seasons previously.

That contest can be seen as the prologue to a theme which has defined jump racing in Ireland ever since, a battle for supremacy between two outstanding trainers of different generations and backgrounds.