With the Cheltenham Festival (11-14 March) just days away, six-time champion National Hunt racehorse trainer Nicky Henderson admits he and the team at Seven Barrows are now box-walking in anticipation.
Speaking on episode 162 of The Horse & Hound Podcast, which is sponsored by a new campaign from British racing called HorsePWR, Nicky firstly reflects on the “bombshell” of “bright spark” Sir Gino’s injury in the run-up to this year’s Festival, before looking back fondly to his first ever Festival winner, which came with the quirky hurdler See You Then exactly 40 years ago.
“We started in 1978 and our first Cheltenham winner came in 1985,” says Nicky. “The Champion Hurdle has been a very lucky race for us; we’re on nine at the moment.
“It’s going to be a mighty invasion,” he says of going up against the strong squad of Irish runners at the Festival again this year. “So we need a lot of public support for a start. But we’ve had a few skirmishes with Willie Mullins’ horses since Christmas and it has come out in our favour. I suspect he won’t have taken that lying down and he’ll have them even more tuned up as a result!”
Racehorse trainer Nicky Henderson on all-time great Sprinter Sacre
Jonbon, Constitution Hill and Lulamba are among the superstar horses heading to this year’s Cheltenham Festival, following in the hoofprints of so many racing greats to have come out of Seven Barrows. Among the likes of Remittance Man, Binocular and Altior, it’s Sprinter Sacre that stands out, says Nicky.
“In the first half of his career Sprinter Sacre was unbeatable,” says Nicky. “Then he got ill and he had this heart problem, he was out for 18 months. But he came back, it was last chance saloon, and he won the Shloer Chase and came back and won another Champion Chase at Cheltenham. It was a great day for British racing, the atmosphere that day was just amazing. It’s very special when the crowd appreciates these great warriors. The horses really are the main ingredient.”
Chasing the Grand National dream
Having won nearly every major prize in the sport during his glittering career, Nicky Henderson admits the Grand National is the dream he’s still chasing.
“We actually finished second in it the first year and thought it was going to be easy,” says Nicky. “There’s no point going there and running very good races though, you’ve got to win it.”
To hear more about Nicky Henderson’s insight on his many top horses, how his role has changed over the past 50 years and some remarkable comebacks, listen here to episode 162 of The Horse & Hound Podcast – or search for “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.
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The Horse & Hound Podcast 162: multiple champion trainer Nicky Henderson
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