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Equinties - more pain for Nicky
BGP Capital
January 26, 2026
Gm, Equinauts
Trials Day on Saturday delivered a rollercoaster of emotions, from SIR GINO’s devastating injury to a bizarre track glitch and a no-holds-barred interview that has completely divided racing X.
Let’s dive in.
HEADLINE ROUND UP
MORE PAIN FOR NICKY
The scene was set: SIR GINO, the hyped-up (warranted) Hendo superstar substitute for the Champion Hurdle and many punters’ license to print money, lining up for his trial race with all eyes and expectation on him. Both Cheltenham racegoers and the millions tuning into the TV (or betting apps) were wanting see something huge, something special.
But, as you will all be aware, total disaster struck early when the superstar was quickly pulled up by Nico.
We were trackside for the race and we’d be hard pressed to remember a racing moment where the atmosphere dive bombed like it did Saturday. No one cared for the race after that. Even we, who had a bet on THE NEW LION didn’t watch the finish, all eyes were on our phone screens trying to find out what the happened.
We didn’t know whether Nico had pulled him up because he wasn’t travelling on the ground if it was way worse than that. No one knew but there were many who were speculating (which isn’t helpful) and it was stressful time as race fans.
Then the posts started coming in. Speculation that SIR GINO had broken his pelvis but nothing confirmed and all we knew was he (thankfully) he was able to walk himself onto the horse ambulance.
THE NEW LION ended up winning the race but for what should have been a time of elation for the Skelton team, the moment was only a sombre one for all. Cheltenham was as gloomy as the sky.
We now have more light on the situation. From his holiday location (we do wonder if he booked it Saturday night just to get away from every thing), Hendo has updated various news outlets that although SIR GINO had another comfortable night at hospital, scans have revealed two fractures.
Hendo has dealt with this before:
Vets are on the case, and while recovery hopes seem sanguine, this setback casts a shadow over his future career.
We’re so sad for SIR GINO, Sevenbarrows and racing as a whole.
WHAT IN THE EARTH IS THAT!?
Just when we thought the drama was over, enter stage left: a random, massive, hole in the track suddenly appeared. Spotted by one eagle-eyed groundsman right before the final race, chaos ensued.
Now, this hole was bloody dangerous. We're talking a hole big enough to swallow an arm without touching the bottom and officials suspect it was a collapsed drain and so while authorities ummed and ahed over the safety of running the last, the race got delayed by nearly 30 minutes while they shifted rails to dodge the dangerous part of the track.
The race went ahead, kicking off in near-darkness, leading to a finish where the lack of light compromised the reliability of the photo-finish (although it wasn’t needed).
The whole ordeal provided the perfect platform for some spicy altercations, and boy, did Lydia Hislop deliver! The Racing TV pundit didn't hold back in her interview with Cheltenham's clerk of the course, Jon Pullin, absolutely grilling him on why they didn't scrap the race or inspect the whole track after the hole scare.
She was was tactical with her questions, leading him one direction so as to corner him with another. Pullin stayed relatively cool under fire, explaining it was a "collective decision" involving BHA officials, jockeys, and trainers.
"It was a single hole, there weren’t any other holes," he said, adding they'd do more digging (pun intended) to figure out the cause.
Safety first, light issues second – but Hislop's tough questions had fans buzzing about accountability in racing. Kudos to both for keeping it real; it's exchanges like this that keep the sport honest.
So, what was our view on the matter? They absolutely should NOT have raced. The same thing happened at Donny years ago where more holes opened up resulting in broken horses, a career-ending injury for a jockey and massive law suit.
It just did not make sense to risk running, for all involved. We’re gobsmacked they actually went ahead with it.
WEEKEND EYE-CATCHERS
MAESTRO CONTI - SATURDAY CHELTENHAM 12.40
Dan Skelton might be reconsidering his next step with this lad. After his debut he said he wouldn’t be aimed at the Triumph but after Saturdays win, how the hell could you not be tempted by it!? He looked very good on the day given he pulled Harry’s arms arm the whole way round so demonstrated a huge engine and is exciting for the future.
FAVOURI DE CHAMPDOU - SATURDAY CHELTENHAM 13.50
An unbelievably easy win for this lad who set a career PB at the age of 11yo. He’ll get going straight to the XC in March and will be a warm order on the day for connections who love targeting the race.
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