Equinties - Take II

Gm Equinauts

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HEADLINE ROUNDUP

HENDO’S HILL

It was never going to be easy, was it? Once Nicky Henderson nominated Punchestown as the next target for CONSTITUTION HILL on the day of his fall in the Champion Hurdle, it all seemed a bit too cut and dry.

News then came out that GOLDEN ACE would also be heading across the Irish Sea, so we were all starting to get a bit excited that CONSTITUTION HILL, STATE MAN, LOSSIEMOUTH, GOLDEN ACE, and even BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD (Aintree target depending) could be running against each other in Punchestown. A remake of that Champion Hurdle that, for so many reasons, disappointed so bitterly.

However, Saturday saw Henderson reveal some fresh updates for his stable star, and it’s news not everyone wanted to hear.

In his Unibet column on Saturday, the boss of Seven Barrows said: “After a long chat with Michael Buckley and Nico, we have come to the conclusion that it is likely that we will consider running Constitution Hill in the Aintree Hurdle in two weeks time.

“He has come out of the Unibet Champion Hurdle in very good form so it is something we are certainly looking at.

“We haven’t schooled him yet, but that will happen next week, and we’ll keep everyone updated as and when we need to.”

Funnily enough, speaking about schooling, Hendo is planning to do a bit of loose schooling with him to allow him to get his confidence back jumping without Nico interfering. We’re a big fan of loose schooling!

On the surface, this update isn’t great because, ultimately, he’ll just go to the Aintree Hurdle, win, and then call it quits for the season.

However, there is a bit more to it. The Aintree Hurdle is on April 3rd and the Punchestown Champion Hurdle is on May 2nd. 29 days between the two is not an impossible task, and funnily enough, that gap is longer than the number of days between his Champion Hurdle run and a potential Aintree Hurdle tilt.

Yes, he didn’t have a full race at Cheltenham and he will have to tackle 2m4f in Liverpool, but Henderson has absolutely not ruled out doing both.

In the Racing Post, he said: "I don't think we could let a race like this slide away. We know what the gap is between Aintree and Punchestown but at the moment we'd have every intention of running there too. It's a plan, so it's not cast in stone, but at the moment we would be very optimistic in saying we might look at both."

We’re less than convinced. We can definitely see a future where Hendo runs him at Aintree, he says Punchestown is on after he wins (hopefully), then a week later he says he’s had a hard race and will next be seen in the Fighting Fifth.

DECISION MADE

It looks like THE NEW LION is staying over hurdles next season. This was always the most likely choice from Dan Skelton’s words, but it looks like it’s confirmed now.

What’s also confirmed is THE NEW LION won’t be seen again this season. He had a fair race at Cheltenham, and Skelton is keen to give him a long well earned summers rest.

Skelton said: “The Fighting Fifth at Newcastle could be his starting point next season. We’ll try and go down that two-mile route for as long as we can.”

So, why hurdling, and why make the decision so soon?

You have to say that JP McManus has an influence on the decision. Across England, Ireland, and France, he could have the likes of KAWABOOMGA, IRANCY, KAID D’AUTHIE, PUTURHANDSTOGETHER, STENCIL, IMPOSE TOI, MCLAUREY, RAGLAN ROAD, and KOPECK DE MEE for novice chasing next season.

That’s just from us looking at the Grade 1 novice hurdles and Cheltenham handicaps; he could even buy a few more next year or have some fresh French recruits to reveal.

Looking at potential Champion Hurdle horses, JP only really has one, and that’s THE NEW LION. 

Dan Skelton has never really trained a Champion Hurdle horse, but he is pretty sharp at training two-mile hurdlers. He’s won the County Hurdle four times, and Paul Nicholls trained CELESTIAL HALO to finish second in the 2009 Champion Hurdle when Skelton was based in Ditcheat.

Furthermore, when it gets to next year, it will have been six years since McManus, the leading Champion Hurdle-winning owner, has tasted success in the contest. That’s a fair amount of time, and while the great man isn’t getting any younger, he’s ceratinyl getting hungrier for more success.

Is he a Champion Hurdle horse? This is probably the correct decision, but 6/1 for the Champion looks short enough at the moment. He beat a future three-mile chaser for pace in the Turners, and the horses he beat in the Challow aren’t exactly speed demons themselves. That said, he’s obviously class and one should all remember the motto which dominated Cheltenham this year - you’ve got to be in it to win it!

He will add to what is a fascinating division next season. CONSTITUTION HILL (aged 9 next year), STATE MAN (aged 9 next year), and LOSSIEMOUTH (aged 7 next year) have more miles on the clock, and even KOPEK DES BORDES could be campaigned this way next year. It’s an exciting time.

CHELTENHAM TARGETING ALREADY

It’s mad to think that when the dust has barely settled from this years madness at Prestbury Park, the talk is already circled around to next year. It’s exhausting.

Willie Mullins likes to plot them through the season, and his son, Patrick, gave a nod towards the 2026 Cheltenham Festival for a winner at Limerick yesterday.

We’re talking about FUN FUN FUN now who is set to go down the Mares’ Chase route next season after bolting up in a 3m Grade 3 novice chase. In typical female fashion, the seven-year-old mare by MARTALINE has very mixed form. She bolted up in a Grade 2 bumper, then disappointed twice only to then go on to win her maiden hurdle, win a Grade 3 novice hurdle, but then disgrace herself by being beaten out of sight in two Grade 1s. She then won her chase debut but was beaten easily by ONLY BY NIGHT at Exeter. It’s fair to say she isn’t the most reliable horse in the world. She looks like a beast one day, and then she looks like a handicapper the next.

Anyway, she was well-backed yesterday and won easily, which prompted Patrick Mullins to give her some big targets for the future.

He said: “It looks like it took us a long time to figure out the right trip for her, but I think fences let her settle.

“I’d say we’ll be working back from the Mares’ Chase next year.

"We didn’t want to go there this year, particularly after the run at Exeter, but I think we can draw a line through that.”

With Mullins lacking a proper Mares’ Chase candidate, she looks like the number one at this stage. Of course, something from the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle division could improve (MAUGHREEN cough cough), but FUN FUN FUN has plenty of experience at this stage.

TWO GRADE 1 WINNERS RETIRED

Our final piece in todays newsletter is to celebrate the special careers of two Grade 1 winners, GALVIN and ITCHY FEET, who were retired today.

GALVIN’s Grade 1 came in 2021 when winning the Savills Chase at Leopardstown and ITCHY FEET landed his best victory at Sandon in the Scilly Isles Novices Chase.

Not many horses ever get to sniff a black type race, so for these two to have picked up pots in the highest form of National Hunt racing will have created memories connections will cherish forever.

Admittedly, if you asked us how may Grade 1’s GALVIN had won before we checked this morning, we would have said more - and that’s because he was such a talented horse and was so close to winning more. He came second to FRODON in Down Royals Champion Chase before coming second in a Grade 1 out in the USA last year. We also think he’d be a three time Cheltenham winner had the ground been better - twice he came second, once in 2020 and then again in 2023 when beaten by the late, great DELTA WORK:

Well done, GALVIN and ITCHY FEET - may you have many years happiness doing absolutely f all but eating and sleeping and being a horse!

RISK ON

We like the look of GALLANT in the 16.17 to lever another bet but the racing looks poor today and we can’t fin anything. Even with the quicker ground at Exeter today, there is no pedigree edge.

There is a good bet tomorrow.

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