Nicky Henderson has a strong team assembled for the Festival this season and having recorded 46 Cheltenham Festival winners in the last 20 years, the Seven Barrows handler will be looking to add to that impressive tally with several key players across the four-day event. Our expert editor has picked out the trainer’s best chances of success this year including a worthy Gold Cup contender.
Constitution Hill & Jonbon – Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
The trainer looks sure to be doubly represented in the Tuesday opener starting with CONSTITUTION HILL who has always been held in the highest regard and created a big impression when making his stable debut at Sandown, effortlessly coming clear under Nico de Boinville to win by 14l.
A return to the Esher track soon followed as Constitution Hill took his place in the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle where he certainly didn’t disappoint, stretching and powering clear in testing conditions to comfortably land the prize. There is plenty of improvement to come from Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten five-year-old and from what we’ve seen so far in two starts, he is a potential star in the making and is worth his place at the top of the market for the Supreme.
A full brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Douvan, JONBON also commands plenty of respect if lining up in the Tuesday curtain-raiser. The £570,000 purchase from the point-to-point field remains unbeaten for team Henderson and has posted two of those four victories in Grade 2 company.
The last of those Grade 2 triumphs cam in a Haydock trial race and although the six-year-old didn’t visually impress with his performance, Jonbon still gave weight and a beating to some useful rivals on that occasion and was going away from his rivals in the closing stages to win by 3l.
The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle certainly is ultra-competitive this year with the Irish contingent bringing over some useful prospects including Dysart Dynamo and Sir Gerhard. However, Nicky Henderson will be confident he can strike the first blow at the Festival this year and get off to the perfect start.
Shishkin – Queen Mother Champion Chase
The British banker of the week? SHISHKIN will look to make it a hat-trick of Festival wins when lining up in the Queen Mother Champion Chase after previously landing the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2019 and last year’s Arkle.
Shishkin extended his remarkable unbeaten chase run to seven when getting the better of Energumene in a titanic tussle in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot back in January, staying on determinedly to pass Willie Mullins’ star two-miler after the final flight in what was arguably the race of the season so far.
Nicky Henderson’s star has taken the same route to the Festival as stable legends Altior and Sprinter Sacre and is extremely difficult to oppose in his bid for further Festival glory.
Champ – Stayers Hurdle
The Stayers Hurdle looks wide-open this season with few coming into the Thursday feature with questions to answer and something to prove. Those comments certainly applied to CHAMP at the start of the season as Nicky Henderson’s Grade 1 winner had previously pulled up when well fancied for last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Connections returned the ten-year-old to hurdles on seasonal reappearance in the Long Walk Hurdle and Nicky Henderson’s charge certainly didn’t disappoint, travelling ominously well turning for home before keeping on strongly in the closing stages to see off the late threat of Thyme Hill and return to winning ways.
Although slightly below-par in the Cleeve Hurdle on his latest start, Champ has clearly shown that he retains plenty of ability over timber and despite several setbacks during his career, the ten-year-old has thrived since going back over timber and has sound claims in the Stayers Hurdle this year.