Found A Fifty held on to his title with a decisive triumph in the Bar One Racing Fortria Chase at Navan.
The eight-year-old took the Grade Two event by a neck from Solness last term, but though a subsequent step up to two and a half miles was a success, it seemed three miles was a bridge too far for him on debut this year.
He was dropped back to two miles at Navan under Jack Kennedy, where he started at 5-2 in a reduced field due to the soft to heavy ground which caused the rescheduling of the race from Saturday to Monday.
The going made the contest a real battle and eventually it was Found A Fifty who proved up to the task, coming home five lengths ahead of the Willie Mullins-trained 11-8 favourite Dinoblue as her stablemate Hercule Du Seuil was back in third.
Elliott said: “Two miles on that ground is right up his alley, and probably two and a half miles on better ground.
“It was a good performance and Noel (Moran, of owner Bective Stud) is hitting the crossbar all weekend, so it is great to get a winner for him.
“He jumped brilliant – everything bar the second-last, he was very good.”
When asked if the move to three miles will be shelved, the trainer added: “I think we will.
“We will pick and choose his races (over two miles and two and a half miles).
“I’m not sure where we are going to go, but we’ll see.”
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