Envoi Allen stays unbeaten with Grade One strike

All options to be kept open at Cheltenham.

Envoi Allen maintained his unbeaten record with a stylish display in the Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle.

Winning for the second time at the highest level over hurdles on just his third outing, Gordon Elliott’s star looks sure to be heading back to Cheltenham, where he took last year’s Champion Bumper.

Stepping up in trip to two and a half miles for the first time, Davy Russell was content to take a lead from Willie Mullins’ Elixir D’ainay until the turn into the straight.

By then it only concerned those two, as even the promising Longhouse Poet could not keep up.

Sent off at the prohibitive odds of 1-4, Envoi Allen briefly had to be nudged along by Russell but running down to the second-last he joined the leader.

On landing he was soon in front and the race was over as long as he jumped the last well and he did just that.

While he was only ever just doing enough in front, the Cheveley Park Stud-owned gelding still won by three and a half lengths.

RaceBets and Betfair trimmed the winner to 11-8 from 13-8 for the Ballymore at Cheltenham, with the former easing him to 4-1 from 5-2 for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Betfair leaving him unchanged at 7-1.

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