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Foran Equine champion trainer Tom Ellis is hoping to land a Fairly Famous victory at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Whether he lands a second Randox Foxhunters’ Chase at Aintree with Latenightpass is looking a little less likely after it was announced that horse will be joining trainer Dan Skelton for a crack at Cheltenham’s series of cross-country races, starting at the November meeting.
Details of some plans for the season – including hopes that six-year-old Fairly Famous, who was unbeaten in five races last season, can land the St James’s Place Festival Hunters’ Chase – were revealed on Sunday when Ellis and his wife Gina Andrews held an open day for owners at their Warwickshire yard. Andrews’ brother Jack, an integral part of the operation, was also present to give the lowdown on a number of the yard’s unraced young horses.
Flanked by Jack and Gina Andrews, Ellis takes the mic at his yard’s owners’ day
Ellis, who trained 71 point-to-point winners last season, said: “We’re slightly up on numbers this year, but with a higher percentage of young horses. We have more unraced than older horses, which is a first for us.
“Some we’ve bought, some have been sent to us. We’ve bought more because we’ve had the backing to go and do so. We’ve learned a lot about the way to handle young horses that we hope to sell, and have realised that the worst thing you can do is rush four-year-olds in a bid to race them in the spring. Rather than push them it’s better to wait to run them in the autumn.
“We still have plenty of older pointers, although sadly Dubai Quest and Fumet D’Oudairies are out for the season. There are a lot of progressive horses from last season, but they will have to step up.
“Latenightpass is going to to Dan’s this week to be prepared for the cross-country chase at Cheltenham’s November meeting. It is one of Gina’s ambitions to ride in the race, although the horse owes us nothing and hasn’t done for a long time.
“He’s a horse of a lifetime [bred and owned by Ellis’s mother Pippa], but if he doesn’t take to cross-country racing he could run in veterans’ chases or come back to us and go to Aintree.
“Fairly Famous is the horse to take out of last season, although he has some good horses backing him up who have taken a step forward. I’m Spellbound, All Is True and Tigerbythetail are but three nice horses. We might be wrong, but I wouldn’t be swapping them. Fairly Famous [who won at Cheltenham’s evening meeting in May] could be one for Cheltenham in March, while I’m Spellbound could go to Aintree.”
Tigerbythetail, who won five races last season, is led up by Jess Digweed
The Ellis lorry will be heading to Dunsmore in Devon on Sunday for the first meeting of the new season when unraced four-year-old Geordies Secret will be the yard’s sole runner. Jack Andrews rides him in the maiden race that opens the card.
Ellis added: “I’ve been a big fan of Peter Wright’s since he took charge [as chief executive of the Point-to-Point Authority]. He’s listened to everybody’s views and while I don’t agree with everything he has done he’s listened and done what he feels is right for the sport, keeping it moving in a forward direction. Having to tackle a pandemic as well made it difficult, but he will be sorely missed [Wright has said he will step down at the season’s conclusion].”
Asked if the fire still burns after winning five trainers’ championships, Ellis said unequivocally: “I cannot wait for the season to begin. I said to Gina this morning, ‘this time next week we’ll be on our way to Dunsmore’. I absolutely love it, and we’ve got a wonderful team of staff this time and some great owners. Jack reckons they are the strongest bunch of young horses, and I hope they are because we’ve invested a bit more.
“Who knows where we will all be in five years’ time, but I hope we will still be talking about a wonderful sport that we all enjoy and it’s in a really healthy position – and that we’re still enjoying the support of hunts who stage most of the meetings, and have the know-how to do so.”
The yard’s unraced four-year-olds include a pair nominated by Jack as two to note. They are the filly Just A Rose (Saint Des Saints), who could run in the maiden race over two and a half miles at Ffos Las on November 19, and A Law To Himself (Westerner), who was bought at Doncaster 18 months ago.
