Brian Ellison has plans for Ascot runner-up Tashkhan and a jumper to follow

Brian Ellison will target the top staying races next year with Tashkhan after the three-year-old capped his remarkable campaign with a career-best second in Saturday's Long Distance Cup.

Tashkhan belied his 50-1 SP at Ascot by splitting top stayers Trueshan and Stradivarius to complete a season which started with victory at Navan off a mark of just 57.

Long Distance Cup result, analysis and reply

"We'll put him away for next year when there'll be all the Cup races for him, those are the ones he'll be aimed at," said Ellison. "We just don't know how much he's got as he's never stopped improving.

"He's going to be rated 115-plus now but he's only three. I think that's the closest a three-year-old has finished in that race on Saturday. I know they were saying the winner went to France, but so did we [for the Prix Chaudenay] and it took us 24 hours to get there and the same to get back."

Following his win at Navan in March for Emmet Mullins, Tashkhan was bought by owner Patrick Boyle to go hurdling with Ellison, but those plans were quickly shelved.

"He won over a mile and a quarter at Haydock and then over a mile-six back there and when he ran in the Melrose at York, turning in he got stopped but then kept finding to finish fifth," said Ellison. "It just takes him a while to get warmed up and he would have been a hell of a lot closer."

Sam's Adventure: Eider Chase winner has the Welsh National as his targetCredit: John Grossick

Based in Malton, Ellison is one of Britain's leading dual-purpose trainers and his attention is turning to his jumping team headed by Sam's Adventure, with Definitly Red now retired.

The Julie and Phil Martin-owned chaser won the Tommy Whittle at Haydock and Eider at Newcastle and has the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow on December 27 on his agenda.

"He usually takes a couple of races to warm up and the Welsh National will be the target," the trainer said. "He likes soft ground and is in grand form – there's a lot more to come from him. He unseated his rider in the Peter Marsh and Scottish National, but he was a bit unlucky."

Ellison also nominated Cool Jet, a new recruit from Willie Mullins who will run in Boyle's colours, as a jumper he is excited about for the season.

He said: "He ran in four bumpers, including at the Cheltenham Festival, for his previous connections and he's a very nice horse, who will be out in a novice hurdle at Newcastle next month."

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