The Next Tiger Roll??? Lisa O'Neill Preview Gordon Elliot's…

Published on March 5th, 2026

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , Lisa O'Neill has spoken about her work as assistant trainer to Gordon Elliott and their strong Cheltenham Team heading to the festival on the back of a positive Dublin Racing Festival showing.

O'Neill has admitted that there will be a decision to be made on whether Romeo Coolio win run in the Brown Advisory or the Arkle and has some strong words of praise for Brighterdaysahead ahead of the Champion Hurdle , noting that she would love to ride the horse if she were still a jockey.

Elsewhere, she's given two horses for punters to keep in their notepad with including a potential heir to Tiger Roll and JP McManus " secret weapon" for the Fred Winter.

Working With Gordon

It involves a good few things. I go racing a bit, speak with owners or ride out a few lots, be in the office, and help with entries as well. There's plenty to it and not every day is the same, so it's quite nice.

I'd say going on maybe 11 or 12 years now, I’ve been there. I went there initially just hoping to get a few rides, and my role has grown.

Strong Cheltenham Team

We actually have 74 individual entries, and around 60 will make the journey over. That is similar to the numbers that have gone over the last few years.

Gordon had a great Dublin Racing Festival , which was fantastic to see. He doesn’t normally aim a lot of horses at the DRF , so it was a bit of a change-up of what he usually does. It was nice to see him reap the rewards for that. He goes to Cheltenham with some really strong contenders, some exciting types and some big chances there as well.

El Cairos

El Cairos is Gordon's main contender in the Supreme . He's a horse that really excites me, and I know he excites [jockey] Jack Kennedy as well. He's a horse who came down at the last in Leopardstown at Christmas, and I suppose there was a bit of a heart-in-the-mouth moment at Thurles at the last when he won his maiden hurdle.

But he has bags of speed - he's a seriously pacey horse. I remember watching him in the Champion Bumper last year, the way he puts his head down and gallops and picks up and accelerates is not something you see too often in a horse. So, I'm very excited to see him go there. Old Park Star is the talking horse, but we will find out how good El Cairos is.

At the moment, he can do no wrong in our eyes. Obviously, he's probably got to improve from a jumping perspective, but the way he regathered himself at Thurles and picked up and hit the line was super impressive. So, he's our biggest chance there, albeit he's got to take on some of the big guns, but I think he's well capable of doing that.

Arkle vs Brown Advisory Choice

Potentially. Romeo Coolio has obviously got the option of the Brown Advisory there as well. So, there's a big decision to be made as to where he goes. He put in a serious performance at the DRF against Kargese . I thought he jumped better at the DRF than he did on his previous outing, but there's no getting away from the fact that he's probably a better horse over the two-and-a-half-mile trip. But if the ground came up soft, I think he'd be coming up the hill quite well.

Lulamba looks like a superstar, and Kopek Des Bordes goes there with one run. It's an intriguing contest, but I think he has every right to be there. But obviously, the decision has to be made about where he does show up next week.

Champion Hurdle

The New Lion is obviously top of the market ahead of Lossiemouth. Brighterdaysahead coming from Gordon's yard goes there with a massive chance.

I know she went there last year with a big chance and didn't show up. It probably didn't work out for her the year before in the Mares’ Novice . She is in unbelievable order at home, and she's just really bouncing. She looks fantastic, so I think she's a massive chance.

The decision has to be made about where Lossiemouth shows up. The New Lion is a big hope for Dan Skelton and for the English team. But I think if I was to pick one to ride, I think I'd be on a Brighterdaysahead .

Next In Line Prends Garde A Toi

It was a great day and a day I never thought that would happen. My memories are still fresh. I was excited to be going over to Cheltenham with my very first ride at the Festival. I was just excited to be there to take part - never in my right mind did I ever think I'd be jumping the last fence in front and coming up that hill by myself. It's a great memory to have, and look, I was a very small part of Tiger Roll .

He's a legend in his own right, and he became the people's horse then, after what he did. It's a great race, and this year it looks like a wide-open contest. Gordon has plenty of entries in it. Prends Garde A Toi is in a couple of the long-distance handicaps; the National Hunt Chase is one of those, and he could have a big chance. So too could Kurasso Blue for the Robcour team. He's a really nice horse. He's a dour stayer, and he should be one if the ground turns up soft.

JP's Secret Weapon

The Fred Winter is a race in which we have six entries at the moment. It's a race that Gordon has actually won with some really big-priced horses in the past that have probably got in under the radar and achieved more than we expected. He is going there with a good hand.

He’s got a couple at the top of the weights, as in Mange Tout and Highland Crystal. They've got a lot of weight on their back. Barbizon is there as well. I'm not sure if they'll all show up; it'll all depend closer to the time. But for me, I can't get away from a horse called Saratoga , who's got an official rating in England of 130. He was behind Highland Crystal in Naas the last day, and I think he's got an attractive mark for JP McManus , who does very well in that race.