Gordon Elliott is counting down the days until the Cheltenham Festival as he prepares to send another formidable squad from Cullentra House to the Cotswolds.
The County Meath trainer will return to Prestbury Park with 40 Festival winners under his belt, putting him joint-fourth on the all-time list alongside Fulke Walwyn, behind Willie Mullins, Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls.
Elliott is the only man to deny Mullins the leading trainer title at the meeting in the last dozen years, taking that particular honour in both 2017 and 2018, with six and eight winners respectively.
With top-class mare Brighterdaysahead and reigning Stayers' Hurdle champion Teahupoo leading a team that also includes promising novices Romeo Coolio and The Yellow Clay, there is little wonder he cannot wait to head back across the Irish Sea for the biggest week of the year.
When asked how he was feeling ahead of what is widely viewed as a season-defining four days for those at the top of the game, Elliott said: "I blow hot and cold. If I get revved up, 30 seconds later I'll be grand.
"I don't get too nervous until the horses go to the start for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, then you'll start getting the butterflies in your stomach. I do anyway, that's the way I am.
"I can't wait to get there - and to get one winner would be great and anything after that is a bonus. I know it's disappointing if you only have one winner, but you see what happened to Nicky Henderson last year and that can happen to anyone."
Elliott had to be patient in his bid for Festival success last season, going two and a half days without a winner before Teahupoo hit the bullseye on day three.
In the end, he finished the meeting with three winners after Stellar Story's Albert Bartlett
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