Nicky Henderson stable tour: ‘He could be very, very good’ – Legendary trainer on his big Cheltenham Festival fancy
NICKY HENDERSON has seen it all over the past 50 years. The good, the bad and the ugly.
But the six-time champ has never had a virus strike his yard at the worst possible time — on the eve of the Cheltenham Festival.
It’s the meeting that Hendo, 73, targets more than any other and his 73 winners at the big one in March is second only to the dominant Willie Mullins.
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There were one or two worrying signs in February when a few runners were running below their best.
But the alarm bells were ringing loud and clear when reigning champion hurdler Constitution Hill went to Kempton for a routine racecourse gallop — only to struggle up the straight miles behind two stablemates.
It transpired the seven-year-old was suffering with a throat infection, and tests on other horses in the yard found that plenty of them were under the weather.
Henderson had to withdraw a host of Festival contenders, drawing a blank at the meeting for the first time in 16 years.
He said: “It was a very unlucky season in many ways. If you think about what happened, Shishkin threw away the King George, the Fighting Fifth didn’t happen, and Constitution Hill and others didn’t get to Cheltenham.
“The way Jonbon ended the season you would have to say he probably would have won the Champion Chase with the way it was run in the end.
“People said it was a disaster but in the end it wasn’t. We won some nice races and over two million in prize-money, it was just the timing of things that was catastrophic.
“It was pretty brutal, we had to just take a month off to get things right.”
No doubt, Hendo finished on a high with a glut of Grade 1 wins at Aintree and Sandown.
Sir Gino, who was the hot favourite for the Triumph at Cheltenham before being scratched at the last minute, showed what he was capable of with an easy win at Aintree, while JP McManus’ Jonbon won both the Melling Chase and Celebration Chase.
He ended the season with 91 winners, £2,222,622 in prize money and fourth place in the trainers’ standings, behind Mullins, Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls.
He is the 14-1 outsider of the four to win the trainers’ title but, if his stable stars stay healthy and the emerging young talent in the yard progress through the ranks as expected, he could be a dark horse in the title race.
Aside from the obvious, the likes of Constitution Hill, Jonbon and Sir Gino, there are several potential Grade 1 stars in Seven Barrows.
The likes of Shanagh Bob, who won a Grade 2 at Cheltenham in December and was fourth in a Grade 1 at Aintree on his final start of the campaign.
The six—year-old is set to kick off his chasing career this winter.
As will Jeriko Du Reponet, who was allowed to take his chance in the Supeme at Cheltenham but was pulled up by Nico de Boinville when it was clear he wasn’t going to give his running.
Promising youngsters Kingston Pride and Joyeuse will have big targets over hurdles in the coming months.
And Hendo will also train the most expensive horse ever bought to go jumping this season in the shape of Germany Derby winner Palladium.
He cost £1.2 million at the sales earlier this month and will run in the colours of Hendo’s long-time ally Lady Bamford.
STABLE STAR
CONSTITUTION HILL will try to regain his Champion Hurdle crown in 2025.
He only made the track once last year, winning the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, but his health issues from January onwards prevented him running again.
Hendo says: “His season was fraught with disaster as the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle was abandoned and we had to wait for the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton which he won in style. The Fighting Fifth will, once again, be his target and let’s hope we have an uninterrupted run, and he gets back where he belongs.”
FESTIVAL FANCY
SHANAGH BOB was a distant fourth in the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree in April, but he is fancied to take high rank in the staying novice chase division this winter.
Hendo says: “He has grown considerably during the summer and chasing will be his primary objective this season. He could well be very, very good over fences.”
MONEY MAKER
JONBON has been a star for Hendo for the past few years, taking his Grade 1 tally to seven with wins at Aintree and Sandown in the spring.
Hendo says: “He was our flagship horse last season and he will have a similar programme to last year, with the Shloer, Tingle Creek, Clarence House and Champion Chase.”
DARK HORSE
PALLADIUM won the German Derby earlier in the year and was bought at the sales in France earlier this month before heading to Seven Barrows.
He is one of the most high-profile Flat horses to go hurdling in decades.
Hendo says: “He is the most beautiful horse to look at. He is still an entire horse and we will take our time with him. If he likes the hurdles then there will be some races for him but I am sure he will go on the Flat too.”
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