I’ve taken a look at Nicky Henderson’s potential stars of Cheltenham as the world famous trainer looks to add more prizes, and money, to his already impressive list of honours.
I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait to see the beast Altior back in action. Altior had an emphatic victory last time out against an extremely good horse in Politologue as Nicky Henderson’s charge raced so sweetly and jumped so impressively to make his rival look mediocre on the Newbury home straight.
his eight-year-old will be looking to take prize money back to the seven barrows camp, but Altior will be coming up against some cracking rivals in the Queen Mother Chase. The likes of Douvan, Min, Un De Sceaux & an old friend from a few weeks back,Politologue. A simply mouth watering clash between the biggest names in racing.
The sublime Buveur D’Air will once again be in action on the opening day of the festival, defending his crown in the Champion Hurdle, Will it be another easy day for Henderson’s unbeaten seven-year-old?
Last time out, at Sandown, was classed a very good win, but there seemed to be panic stations in the final furlong as John Constable was gaining with each stride but Barry Geragthy quickly gathered his thoughts after looking over his shoulder and pushed out for the victory. This quick, slick jumper is surely going to take all the beating, but he is up against some fantastic horses, such as Faugheen, this time around.
I’m a bit of a softy when it comes to the old timers and especially the legend My Tent Or Yours, back in action in another Champion Hurdle. This eleven-year-old has finished runner-up three times in this race, including last year when he was beaten by stablemate Buveur D’Air. He is a fantastic stayer and always wears his heart on his sleeve, this will be a cracker of a race and could well be My Tent Or Yours’ last festival visit.
Might Bite will be looking to the take the valuable prize which is the Timico Gold Cup on the final day of the festival – this won’t be easy as there will be twenty-six going to post for the big one, with some cracking horse involved.
Last year, Might Bite was beating Whisper after the last but then must have wanted to join the punters in the crowd as he hung extremely bad, and nearly threw the race away but unbelievably he somehow got his act together and managed to get back up on the line in the RSA Chase, What drama! He can’t afford to do that again that’s for sure because this time around I don’t think he will get as lucky.
I want to finish up on a horse that I am very intrigued about; Apple Jade’s sister Apple’s Shakira. This four-year-old has impressed me massively with each race she has won, especially last time out at Cheltenham when she needed a shake of the reigns from Geraghty to power on in the final two furlongs.
She’s still learning her trade but seems to be getting the hang of things just at the right time. She looks set for the Triumph Hurdle and looks like she will be coming up against the exciting prospect Redicean, who scored impressively infront of the ITV cameras last time out.
On a lighter note to finish off with, Henderson also gave fans something to laugh about last week. When speaking about Apple’s Shakira, Henderson went on to say:
She is so lazy in the morning’s, I was looking to sell her at one point because I thought she was going to be useless, She drove me mad every morning!
Luckily he never sold her and it’s a good job the Triumph Hurdle won’t be taking place in the morning by the sounds of it!
