Envoi Allen extends unbeaten run with easy win on chasing bow

Michael Graham
October 30, 2020 3:38 pm

Dual Cheltenham Festival victor impresses at Down Royal.

Envoi Allen predictably outclassed his rivals as he made a foot-perfect start to his career over fences at Down Royal.

Bought for GBP 400,000 by Cheveley Park Stud, Gordon Elliott’s unbeaten six-year-old has so far lived up to his hefty price tag, with his eight previous wins under Rules including a pair of Cheltenham Festival triumphs in the Champion Bumper and the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle.

Faced with just four rivals in the Advanced NI Scaffolding Beginners Chase – a race his trainer had won with the top-class pair of Delta Work and Samcro in the last two years – Envoi Allen was a prohibitively priced 1-14 favourite under Jack Kennedy.

A lovely performance and a super round of jumping from Envoi Allen as @gelliott_racing‘s star scores on his chasing debut in the Advanced NI Scaffolding Beginners Chase 😍
How impressed were you with his victory? pic.twitter.com/W7BB4tuXNn
— Down Royal Racecourse (@Downroyal) October 30, 2020

After initially bouncing out in front when the tapes went up, Envoi Allen was then given a lead by rank outsider Soi Cowboy for much of the two-and-a-half-mile contest, before taking over again racing down the back straight.

Jumping accurately throughout, the six-year-old stamped his authority on the race from the home turn – safely negotiating the final two obstacles and quickening up smartly under hand driving to score by six lengths from January Jets.

Paddy Power trimmed his odds from 5-2 to 9-4 for the Marsh Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham next March, while Coral offer just 2-1.