Gordon Elliott has a positive spirit to get Gerri Colombe back into a winning condition at the end of the year.
The eight-year-old finished third of five in Saturday’s Ladbrokes Champion Chase. This was 13 lengths behind Envoi Allen and Hewick.
It was the first time in 14 races that the Cheltenham gold medalist had not finished in the top two.
Elliott’s yard performed generally well at the two-day meeting at Down Royal, but now he believes Gerri Colombe has some excuses for having a bad day at the office.
“We had a good weekend. There were eight winners and many horses. But the horse that didn’t run well was Gerri Colombe. He couldn’t hold the reins and looked defeated after a few hurdles. . Elliot said.
“We’ve found a few minor issues. If all goes well, we’ll fix them and have everything up and running before Christmas.”