This is Gerri Colombe's first day out of short trousers, but is he ready for the big, bad world?

Gordon Elliott went agonisingly close to making history on Friday. No trainer has ever done a Dettori and gone through an entire card in Ireland, but all that stopped him was the 2m½f handicap chase where Irish Blaze did best of his three runners in third. Six out of seven is still an extraordinary achievement and in Brighterdaysahead, Irish Point, Found A Fifty and Firefox he has a quality quartet capable of competing at the highest level this season. 

Given the way things panned out on Friday, confidence could not be higher in the Cullentra camp as Gerri Colombe begins his 125-day countdown to the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Eight years after Don Cossack dazzled at Down Royal en route to claiming racing's most prestigious prize, Elliot returns with another powerhouse who has the potential to go right to the top of the staying chase division. This is his first day out of short trousers, though, and the real world is an unforgiving place if you're not ready for it. 

The Ladbrokes Champion Chase is the first Grade 1 of the season in either Ireland or Britain and, while there are only four runners, the quartet have already won 16 Grade 1 races between them. They are a small, but very select, bunch.