Nicky Henderson Offers Up Two Big-Priced Plays From His Cheltenham Entries
Nicky Henderson opened the doors to his Seven Barrows stables for a Cheltenham Media Press Day.
The 74-year-old was in a pleasant mood and was happy to gather his two stable stars, Constitution Hill and Jonbon, together for pictures.
He also discussed some horses' futures for the Cheltenham Festival, including Lucky Place who is a 9/1 chance with betting sites who brought a warm smile to the face of the legendary trainer.
Doddiethegreat, 33/1 for the Pertemps Hurdle, was another horse highlighted, but he did mention one noticeable omission from his festival squad, as promising chaser Hyland will not run in the Ultima Handicap Chase.
A tilt at the 2025 Aintree Grand National is now favoured.
Henderson Talks Through His Festival Team
Tuesday, March 11: 14:00 - Arkle Chase - Jango Baie
The 2025 Arkle Chase had been billed as one of the clashes of the festival, with Henderson's Sir Gino supposed to have been facing the Irish raider, Majborough.
Sir Gino's recent injury has put that battle on the back burner, but the trainer has a talented backup in Jango Baie.
"The Arkle would be our line of argument at the moment," Henderson said. "I am sure he will stay three miles, but they go a good gallop in the Arkle, and that will suit him perfectly. Sir Gino has left the door open for him.”
Tuesday, March 11: 16:00 - Champion Hurdle - Constitution Hill
Constitution Hill needed no introduction at the media day, and there seemed to be a twinkle in the eye of his trainer as he gave an update on his stable star:
"Everything has been great since Christmas. At Kempton, we went in with an open mind, thinking if there was ever a time he would be beaten, it would be that day, and he was brilliant.
"Nico (de Boinville) will have a sit on him this week, and I suppose we better jump a hurdle to eliminate that memory of the final hurdle before Cheltenham. I don’t know what he did, but any other horse would have fallen that day.
"It just shows how fresh and well he still was to find a leg and gallop on. If you remember in the Champion Hurdle two years ago, he went to the last and did something relatively daft halfway.
"He realised, ‘Oh, I’m not going to make this,’ and lifts in the air. Basically, only an aeroplane can do that."
When asked about any potential worries regarding a strong tempo in the Champion Hurdle, Henderson reassured everyone that this would suit Constitution Hill even better:
"He has bags of pace. He can travel at any pace; the pace that Lossiemouth found difficult at Cheltenham was no problem for him. He has got bags of speed."
Wednesday, March 12: 14:00 - Brown Advisory Novices' Chase - Jingko Blue
Henderson has won the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase on four occasions, and he is hopeful of a good run from this year's runner, Jingko Blue.
Preparations hit a snag at Ascot last time, however, as he unseated his jockey early in the race.
That performance has seen him drift in the market with betting apps for his Cheltenham engagement, but his trainer is hoping that the six-year-old can get back on track:
"Unfortunately, Ascot put a spanner in the works for him. You wouldn’t want to go to the Brown Advisory on the back of what happened."
When asked about an alternative race at the festival, Henderson replied,
"I can’t run him in the two-and-a-half-mile handicap as he would be too high, and he needs three runs to get into a handicap."
Wednesday, March 12: 16:00 - Champion Chase - Jonbon
Jonbon is the odds-on favourite with horse racing betting sites for the Champion Chase, and Henderson is seemingly very confident of a big performance from his star chaser at the festival.
Beaten in just two of his 14 starts over fences, Jonbon warmed up for Cheltenham with a facile victory in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot - a performance that impressed his trainer:
“He was very good the other day at Ascot," Henderson said. "As you could see this morning, he can’t stand still for two minutes.
"He did nothing wrong last year, but because he didn’t win the Clarence House, people say he doesn’t like Cheltenham."
When asked about the fact his star is yet to win at the Festival, he was quick to step in and defend the nine-time Grade 1-winning horse.
"You can’t blame the Clarence House defeat on him not acting around Cheltenham. He just made one shocking mistake. He was very lucky to stand up that day, so you can’t count that against him.
"He goes around anywhere. You have to be a champion to win the Champion Chase, and he deserves to."
Thursday, March 13: 16:00 - Stayers' Hurdle - Lucky Place
You have to go back to the year 2020 for the last time that Henderson won a Stayers' Hurdle, but he has a good feeling about Lucky Place being able to make it win number three in the race for the trainer.
Despite having never run over three miles, Henderson is confident he has the ability to stay and was forthcoming with his praise and high hopes for his charge in Thursday's highlight, saying:
"He’d be right high on my list. Very high. He’s just a very likeable, straightforward, uncomplicated, nice horse with a great temperament and attitude.
"Of course, we are taking stamina on trial, but the form of his runs this season has worked out. If we went to Trials Day over three miles, we were going to get a hard race. He is working well and is in good order."
Henderson's Handicap Hopefuls
As well as hoping for some Grade 1 glory at the Cheltenham, Henderson also has a nice team of horses lined up to run in the meeting's handicap races.
He didn't go through his full squad at the media day but did pick out three horses that could reward punters.
Wednesday, March 12: 15:20 - Cross Country Handicap Chase - Mister Coffey
"He's in terrific form. It’s bad luck on him, being rated 144. He was doing great, and he ran that fantastic race in the Grand National, but he galloped until he dropped that day.
"When you get that low in the well, it takes a long time to get over it. We were going to retire him, and I said we have two games up our sleeve. We could go hunter-chasing or cross-country, and one of them might reignite the flame.
"When you’ve gone to the bottom, it takes a long time to get your confidence back. He has run two really good races, and he is loving it."
Thursday, March 13: 14:40 - Pertemps Handicap Hurdle - Doddiethegreat
Out of all of his handicap hopefuls, it was the Kenny Alexander-owned Doddiethegreat that Henderson suggested he was more than happy to take with him to the Cheltenham Festival.
Speaking of the lightly raced nine-year-old, Henderson said: "I liked the way he ran on last time. I liked the way he finished his race; that was great, and he has booked his ticket for the Pertemps."
Friday, March 14: 17:20 - Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle - East India Express
An impressive winner at Kempton over Christmas, East India Express is set to take his chance in the final race of the week. He may have a bit to prove, but his trainer is happy for the youngster to take his chance:
"He won at Ascot and Kempton in the space of seven days, and I won’t take the credit for it, as I was on my way to Ascot, and Jerry McGrath rang me up and said, ‘Why don’t you put East India Express in at Kempton next Saturday?’
"I said, ‘Why would I do that?’ He said, ‘When he wins at Ascot, you won’t get a penalty next week at Kempton.
"I said, ‘But he won’t win at Ascot.’ ‘You never know,’ says Jerry, and it shows he knows a lot more about what’s going on in the yard than I do. He is very well and hopefully has a solid chance."
Sir Gino Update
As well as discussing his Cheltenham team at the media day, Henderson also took time to give an update on the injured Sir Gino. Although he was upbeat, he was quick to reassure everyone that his horse was not back to full strength yet, and the next week would be extremely telling.
He said: "They’re hoping that if he stays the same for a week, we might be coming out of the woods. The signs are positive because he’s stable. He’s honestly in no pain; they’ve just got to get this bug under control."
