Gordon Elliott can get Gerri Colombe on track for Christmas

The eight-year-old finished third of five in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase on Saturday, 13 lengths behind Envoi Allen and Hewick.

It was the first time in 14 outings the Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up had finished outside the first two.

On the whole Elliott's yard performed well over the two-day meeting at Down Royal but he now thinks he has uncovered a couple of excuses as to why Gerri Colombe had a bad day at the office.

“We had a good weekend, we had eight winners and a lot of placed horses, but I suppose the one horse who didn’t run well was Gerri Colombe, who just never took hold of the bridle and to me he looked beat after a couple of fences,” said Elliott.

“We’ve found a couple of little things, we’ll iron them out and have him right for Christmas, all being well.”