‘I hope it cheers him up' – Gordon Elliott dedicates 11/1 Galway Races win to sick dad in emotional interview
The
1
Jockey Danny Gilligan, centre, with trainer Gordon Elliott, left, and Western Fold after winning the Tote Galway Plate
Credit: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
The 11/1 shot won by four and a half lengths from Amirite in second and Shecouldbeanything back in third.
Speaking afterwards, the 47-year-old dedicated the triumph to his dad Pat who he hoped was watching from hospital.
He said: "He's a right horse. Bobby O'Ryan bought him for David (L'Estrange) and John (Wright, owners) and the boys have been very patient with him, he was a bit backward when he was young.
'This race has been the plan for a while so I'm delighted the lads are here.
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"It's a dream for the lads to be here and win the race. Bobby put the syndicate together so all credit has to go to him.
'Everything worked out great.
"Danny got away at the start and the horse jumped like a buck, I think he just missed one into the dip.
"Everything went right and it was poetry in motion.
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'I thought it (10lb rise in weight) might be enough to stop him to be honest. I was worried.
'I'd say the ground is the key to this horse, he likes a bit of nice ground. He's a very nice horse.
Gordon Elliott wipes away tears during RacingTV interview at Cheltenham
'My Dad's in hospital so he'll enjoy watching this and hopefully it will cheer him up.
'He'll be out, hopefully, for the football in Summerhill on Saturday. He's watching it in hospital so hopefully it gives him a lift.'
The Galway Plate was his second win of the 2025 Festival and represented a turnaround in fortune from a disappointing Cheltenham.
The
Meath trainer
cut an emotional figure after what was a frustrating week at Prestbury Park.
His sole winner came on the final day when
The post-race interview was laced with emotion as he had to stop and gather his composure on several occasions while wiping away tears.
And while he would normally ignore it, the 47-year-old admitted it got so bad he had to turn his phone off altogether.
He said: "I don't usually listen to what people say, I drive on and do my own thing.
"But when you're getting relentless abuse on WhatsApp or Twitter or private messages from people and everybody wants to nail you, it's not nice.
"Normally it doesn't bother me and I don't pay any attention to the abuse, but it did bother me at Cheltenham.
"It got to me. So much so that I turned off all my social media stuff on Thursday night because my head was completely melted.
"I just couldn't take any more so I switched them all off."
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