The entries for the closing bumper race at Down Royal on Saturday include five horses that fetched over €150,000 at the sales in a stunning show of the colossal money in the Irish jump racing.A microcosm of this fact is displayed in the many expensive purchases entered for the €10,000 Ladbrokes Flat Race at Down Royal on Sunday.Gordon Elliott often targets this meeting with some of his best horses, and the Meath handler has entered no less than nine runners before the final declarations.
While Jersey Des Brosses was bought at another Cheltenham sale in February for £370,000 after winning a point-to-point at Oldtown. Elliott's ambition is to finally dethrone Willie Mullins in the trainers' title race, and he appears to have the firm backing of Michael O'Leary, who is heavily investing in the game once more after previously declaring his intention to wind down his Gigginstown House Stud operation.