- Equinties Newsletter
- Posts
- Equinties - saving sacre
Equinties - saving sacre
BGP Capital
January 28, 2026
Gm, Equinauts
January’s jumping calendar has been decimated this month - first it was the frost and now it’s the rain.
Only Kempton survives today and bar the 19.00, the card looks a bit dreary so it might prove wise to prep yourself in advance of the punting ahead.
Let’s dive in.
HEADLINE ROUND UP
X SPRINTING TO SACRE (WHICH IS GREAT)
A post asking for people to donate towards SPRINTER SACREs vet bill blew up over night with people up in arms wrongly coming to the conclusion that Nicky Henderson and his previous owner Caroline Mould had simply abandoned him.
To see the reaction you will need to check the ‘quoted’ posts on the below:
Now, don’t get us wrong. It is really, really nice to see people worried about SPRINTER SACRE, and our post on X earlier was more aimed at the people bad-mouthing Hendo,
but let’s all just calm down about this situ.
Matt Chapman has provided clarity on the situation by revealing that in fact the legend is currently at Sevenbarrows’ vets receiving treatment, paid for by Hendo.
We trust this information is nothing but accurate given Matt Chapman will be double sure before he posts anything from now (after that f*ck up with the false Skelton update a few weeks back lol).
But back to the original fallout, do you really think Nicky, who absolutely loves his horses, would have it any other way?
Of course not.
Hendo even took pelters for leaving for the Alps on the Sunday after SIR GINO was injured. It was a ski trip booked long in advance for his close friends birthday. It wasn’t a last minute ‘f*ck this I’m out’ escape.
We understand why SPRINTERS fans will have been so up in arms about the situation, the Go Fund Me page gave little to no context over the situation, but we know how that might have easily of happened - vets bills rack up quickly and his current owners will have been worried about their own financial situation before Hendo even knew there was a problem.
As is stands right now, it sounds like every one is helping SPRINTER and will (hopefully) be okay… WHICH IS GREAT!
PROMISING DRF
Leopardstown Racecourse mounted a determined effort yesterday to ensure the best possible chance for the DRF go ahead as planned over the weekend. The two-dayer, featuring a plethora of Grade 1 races is the highlight of the National Hunt calendar between Christmas and March providing key pointers to punters for spring.
Insane rainfall from Storm Chandra caused significant flooding, with 58mm falling in just 24 hours, leaving parts of the track totally unraceable (unless it was a swimming event) earlier in the week. Nearby fixtures like Limerick were cancelled due to the deluge, and several British meetings faced similar issues leaving us with a pretty boring day today with only Kempton on. That said, Leopardstown officials remain optimistic.
See this clip below posted late yesterday evening…. every bit of track before was under water!
Clerk of the course Paddy Graffin noted that the heaviest rain has passed, and he's hopeful the course's drainage system—combined with improving weather—will allow the ground to recover. New CEO Mark Clayton expressed confidence in the ground staff's ability to win the race against the elements, calling it a "worthy adversary" for the storm.
We hope it does go ahead (it will) because there are such strong entries, including the big boys like GALOPIN DES CHAMPS aiming for a fourth DRF Gold Cup win and LOSSIEMOUTH reinforcing her current backers for the Champion Hurdle.
A LOOK AHEAD
We’re looking at the 14.02 on Saturday, the 2M Class 2 handicap chase, and we’re just guessing the going is going to remain soft, potentially heavy in places, so let’s just look at the sloppers.
MADARA goes in the mud. This is one of several owner Bryan Drew has moved to Dan’s (think PANIC ATTACK) and you can bet your bottom dollar that Dan will be improving him. Huge player.
DR T J ECKLEBURG (named after the opticians ad on a billboard in The Great Gatsby (which turned out to be a visual metaphor)) came second in this last year. Loves the ground and that makes him a player again, especially off his light weight. Adam Wedge is still out with a broken shoulder so an eye-catching jockey booking would mean they mean business.
GUNRSIGHT RIDGE won the race last year. He’s one of the few horses by our favourite jumps sire MIDNIGHT LEGEND still in training. This has clearly been the target for him.
HADDEX DES OBEAUX is a huge mud lover and proper horse if his new trainer has him right. He clearly had an issue having spent a couple of years off the track. He was bought for 100k from the dispersal of Olly Harris’ horses and if he retains his ability, he’s a graded horse in a handicap.
Verdict: if the ground remains soft or heavy, the winner should come from the shortlist of sloppers above. We feel MADARA should improve for being with Dan for little over a year now but it’s a risk on the basis you never quite know what the long term plans are with Dan (i.e will he be trying to get his mark down for the Plate (which was his target last year before something went wrong)). If DR T J ECKLEBURG was a better price he’d be a solid ew.
TO READ THIS WEEKENDS DRF AND SANDOWN PREVIEWS, SUBSCRIBER BELOW!
