Matt Chapman: After Shishkin’s win, Nicky Henderson took me aside and told me what to expect at Cheltenham Festival
WATCH out the Irish – in Hendo we trust!
Oh yes, Nicky Henderson is heading to Cheltenham all guns blazing with one of the most powerful teams he has assembled for any Festival.
PAHenderson has got Shishkin back to his best and is looking forward to Cheltenham with an almighty Seven Barrows squad[/caption]
Powered by a negative BHA, it has appeared to be doom and gloom for British handlers as far as jumps racing is concerned.
And it’s fair to say many believe the Irish will dominate next month’s Cheltenham smash up.
But after Shishkin’s romp at Ascot on Saturday, I took Henderson to one side and he had little choice but to admit he’s a right old army to unleash against the might of Ireland’s champion Willie Mullins.
A beaming Henderson said: “I hope I’ve got Shishkin and Constitution Hill, as well as Luccia and Epatante and Jonbon. It’s a strong team. And there will be a few more.
“There’s a lot of class in there – they are all potential winners.
“We had seven winners one year at the Festival but I have to say I couldn’t see five of them winning! It’s good.”
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Shishkin is now primed for the Ryanair Chase, while Constitution Hill is seen as a good thing by most in the Unibet Champion Hurdle.
Luccia might stay in mares’ company or take a chance in the Supreme, and Epatante will be a huge force in the Mares’ Hurdle if she doesn’t end up against her stable companion in the Champion.
Jonbon didn’t please everyone at Warwick last time. But he’s still strongly considered a huge threat to everyone in the Arkle.
A word on Nico de Boinville, who once again showed he was the iceman on Shishkin in his Betfair Ascot Chase.
The jockey rarely makes mistakes and it still amazes me he doesn’t get more rides from outside stables.
Part of that is he simply wants to be at his best for Henderson, but de Boinville is a class act in and out the saddle.
Also at Ascot Saturday was an awesome win for Christian Williams, who was delighted by the victory of Cap du Nord.
Christian knows that Cap du Nord is one of the favourite horses, but the handler was a little miffed – quite rightly – that Jack Tudor was unable to enjoy the victory as much as he should have been allowed to do so.
The jockeys were taken into the stewards room after the heat to talk about the start, but that meant Tudor was kept behind rather than enjoying winning celebrations.
All 14 of the jockeys in the race were banned.
Tudor mucks out two horses in the morning and works hard all day for his moments of glory.
There must be a way to allow winners to really be able to appreciate their moment. Come on stewards.
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