'I'm sure you'll see a better Gordon' - what does the future hold for Elliott?

We can all imagine how Gordon Elliott would like it to go from here. After he gets his licence back on Thursday, he slips quickly back into the old routine, perhaps smiling at a bit of mickey-taking from the staff, and the winners flow as easily as they ever did.

He goes to the races and is welcomed back. He is asked only about horses he is running that day or hopes to run in the future. He goes to the harvest festival at Listowel and on to the Munster National at Limerick and it is just like any other year.

The horses he has drafted in over the summer prove to be among the most promising of their generations. No vet uses the words tendon, ligament or fracture in his presence. By the end of the Cheltenham Festival in March, everyone is talking about what an amazing comeback Gordon has made, without alluding directly to the circumstances which necessitated a comeback.