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Equinties - bigger issue
BGP Capital
February 06, 2026
Gm, Equinauts
We spent a good morning studying the slop at Bangor, only for it to be abandoned along with Sandown.
Sad times.
Let’s dive in.
HEADLINE ROUNDUP
BIGGER ISSUE
Whenever you see Nicky Henderson he almost always has a smile on his face, a wonderful trait of his considering he’s had a bit of a shitty time of things of late. Jut Just look at the two horses he loves so much - CONSTITUTION HILL has gone from hero to zero almost overnight and SIR GINO is constantly in hospital.
Thew SIR GINO updates seemed pretty positive after Trials Day that he was going to be okay, but yesterday, Hendo revealed a bit of worrying news. He said: "He’s not had too much luck and if ever a horse deserved luck, it’s him. You’ve got the best horse in the world and you can’t do anything about it; he’s just so good.
"It’s worrying them a bit at the moment. His fracture is fine, but it’s an internal infection that he’s got. It’s moving to a different battlefield."
That’s not good news. Just when we thought the horse had experienced enough, he now has an infection…again! Such a horrible situation for the superstar and Sevenbarrows.
Although that news was pretty harsh, Hendo did have something to celebrate yesterday…
ACTING ON IMPULSE
That’s because ACT OF INNOCENCE won the Listed Sidney Banks Memorial at Huntingdon yesterday, all but booking his place in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
It’s funny how this horse’s season has gone, as at one stage, he was seen as the potential Supreme horse by Nicky Henderson with OLD PARK STAR maybe being the one to step up in trip, but as we hurtle towards March, the plans have completely flipped 180 with OPS aiming at the Supreme.
Whatever the plan, it’s quite clear Henderson and the Halls have two exciting novices heading to Cheltenham with very real chances, and that’s not a position you find yourself in every day. Furthermore, OLD PARK STAR is favourite for the Supreme, and ACT OF INNOCENCE is 10/1 on the back of yesterday’s win and Henderson’s glowing comments.
He said: “He’s very talented. I did think this horse was the quicker of the two when they first came to me, but they’ve flip-flopped through the year and he’s shown he definitely stays. I know it’s not the biggest test of stamina here, but he stays.
“He’s got it, he’s got the lot. He came to me so ready-made – I can’t fault him.”
He’s good, there’s no doubting that, but is he Turners-winning good? It would be extremely easy to get swept up in the hype of the horse/Henderson’s comments, but the second, GLANCE AT MIDNIGHT, is a 127-rated hurdler after three prior runs, and SINNATRA faded badly for some reason. That is slightly worrying if you are a fan of his for the Turners considering who he’d be up against. The likes of BALLYFAD, KING RASKO GREY, NO DRAMA THIS END, MIGHTY PARK, and SKYLIGHT HUSTLE are proper horses, and you’d have to say their form is better.
As Hendo said, you can’t fault him, but can you crown him as the Turners winner? No.
THINKIN’ NEGATIVELY
The Cheltenham Gold Cup has had a bad reputation of ruining horses in recent years.
BRAVEMANSGAME & GERRI COLOMBE were never the same horse after their battle with the beast that is GALOPIN DES CHAMPS, and ever since INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN beat GDC in last year’s renewal, he has looked more like a Class 4 handicapper than a Gold Cup winner.
His first run of the season was understandable. It was the John Durkan over the wrong trip, and he wasn’t cited in last year’s renewal, so it was always going to be the same this year. However, he was in a different parish in the Savills Chase, and he had a tired fall in the Irish Gold Cup.
These haven’t been runs that see him building towards the Gold Cup; these are the performances of a horse who has lot the plot, and it’s stumped his trainer Gavin Cromwell. He said: “Inothewayurthinkin is fine after the Irish Gold Cup and he’s back riding out now. He was unfortunate to fall at the last after getting tired, but thankfully he was just a bit winded after and has come out of it fine.
"I actually thought he’d run an okay race to that point. It was a big improvement from Christmas; it was just a pity to see him fall.
“The reality of it is that he’s now seen as an outside chance for the Gold Cup, and he’ll have to take a huge step forward to be competitive there. It's still up in the air as to whether he even goes.
"Unless we’re very happy with him when the time comes, he won’t be going to the Gold Cup.”
It’s a bit of a sad state of affairs with the horse, but can you blame connections for not wanting him to run? He wouldn’t have much of a chance, so you may as well wait and hope he starts showing the right signs at home before making a decision. After all, he wasn’t even entered in the race last year and they had to supplement him, so his progress clearly caught connections a bit off guard, especially as he was only seven at the time. On this season’s form, it will be very hard to back him in another race unless he starts showing signs of improvement. But who knows where that will come from if not from a nice bit of sun on his back.
CLEARED
Remember this fall?
Well, the IHRB cleared both Philip and Charles Byrnes of any wrong doing yesterday.
We’re not gonna lie, we always assumed this would be the case because unless the IHRB found some dodgy betting receipts, then how on earth were they ever going to prove it!?
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