THE sport of kings can sometimes test the patience and loyalty of its most ardent fans. Today was such a day. The end of the Cheltenham Open Meeting ended in genuine heartbreak and tears with the death of the beautiful grey Simonsig. Excruciatingly, it came just two hours after his trainer Nicky Henderson had openly …[Read More]
NICKY Henderson plundered the Chester Cup on Wednesday and he could strike on the flat again today at Ascot. SIGN OF A VICTORY is just below top class over hurdles. In fact his last race over jumps was in the Champion Hurdle in March when he was 23 lengths behind Annie Power. No disgrace at …[Read More]
A WORD about Sprinter Sacre…. Racing needs its superstars. They don’t come along too often but there was a glorious period in 2012 when both Frankel and Sprinter Sacre were at the top of their game. Two equine superstars in their pomp at the same time. We were truly blessed and racing even gatecrashed the …[Read More]
HE MAY have mopped up most of National Hunt racing’s biggest prizes, but the Grand National remains the holy grail for leading trainer Nicky Henderson. He has hit the crossbar a few times: remember his first Aintree runner Zongalero coming second to Rubstic in 1979 (I do, I’m that old!) Or The Tsarevich chasing home …[Read More]
NICKY Henderson today showed off his main Cheltenham Festival hopes and said he could have up to 35 runners over the four days. And he said: “My situation is not as gloomy as some people have made out – we are only one winner behind last year at this stage. Sadly, we will be missing …[Read More]
LAST year’s Lexus Chase was, for me, THE race of the National Hunt season. Tidal Bay’s dramatic late lunge between Flemenstar and First Lieutenant was a remarkable performance and a ride of legendary proportions by Ruby Walsh. This year’s Lexus has something to live up to but connections of Bobs Worth are hoping it will …[Read More]
THE burgeoning influence of technology and social media seems to be seeping into every corner of our lives. Mostly for the better, I must add. Now it’s racing’s turn with cyberspace about to revolutionise Cheltenham Festival preview nights. In a case of “if you can’t come to us, we’ll come to you”, the Official Festival …[Read More]
THE top trainers have been busy opening their doors to the media this week with the Cheltenham Festival less than three weeks away. I can never quite work out if the likes of Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls (left) and David Pipe actually enjoy waxing lyrical about their equine superstars. Ultimately, their main obligation is to …[Read More]
Jack Milner of BetVictor previews day one of the Cheltenham Festival. THE only thing bigger than the anticipation of the first day of the festival is the roar of the crowd before the Supreme Novices Hurdle. A year’s worth of ante-post scribbling, analysis and portfolio-building is now meaningless, and it boils down to horse and …[Read More]
RACNG is a joyous sport. But it does have the ability to leave you with a gut-wrenching feeling of emptiness. The sad death of Darlan was such a moment today. Here was the heir to the Champion Hurdle throne, lobbing along at the last flight on his way to a likely victory, but within a …[Read More]
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