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He was on ATR on Monday night saying Altior looked magnificent and was exactly where they wanted him in preparation for the Tingle Creek. We now know that was complete rubbish but the bookies were told well in advance of the public
I’m really disappointed with him.
Selectively open or careless or forgetful. I’ve always liked Henderson. He is friendly and helpful with the press and I doubt there’s an ounce of malice in him. But his approach can do more harm than good sometimes. I’ve written elsewhere about the disastrous way he handled the Might Bite Jockey Club Million announcement.
Also, he said today that the wind op Altior is to have will be the same as was performed on Might Bite and Sprinter. News to me that either had been operated on. I might just have missed it.
He was on ATR on Monday night saying Altior looked magnificent and was exactly where they wanted him in preparation for the Tingle Creek. We now know that was complete rubbish but the bookies were told well in advance of the public
I’m really disappointed with him.
That is true, i watched myself, the noise was apparantly heard on saturday, although henderson could have genuinely thought it was minor enough that it was nothing, the horse probably is in fantastic shape atm, id say its more of what ive just said rather than him lying about the situation
He gave alot of time on monday which he didnt need to, you would think that if anything like the altior situation came out that it is misfortune mixed with careless wording
But it happens often with trainers so maybe im too quick to defend him!
Sprinter Sacre underwent several wind ops, though not as many as was rumoured during the Cheltenham preview nights in 2015
as mentioned on another thread, I am a big Fox Norton Fan, so have happily taken some 14/1 on offer.
Should he not win at the weekend, i expect that to go out a little, which wont put me off and may go again at a bigger price.
Big doubts about those ahead of him in the market
Douvan – will he be fit / will he be stepped up in trip
Min – fitness worries and missing most of last season has more than a few questions to answer
Altior – i cant quite piece this story together, wont be suprised if he misses the season.
Great Field – may be stepped up. Think FN would get the better of him anyway.
Latest from Henderson is that it was a small, easy procedure
2 weeks box rest, then walking and go from there
much more encouraging report
although you can’t take anything for granted, I’ll will be keeping everything crossed for Altior, fingers, toes and peanuts, no sex until after the Champion Chase.
Horses seem to run above expectations after a wind op, so missing a prep race wouldn’t be the end of the world.Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Just in case you haven’t noticed Willie Mullins, in his stable tour, has said Great Field is injured and might be back some time in the spring.
I don’t know about you guys but I can’t wait to see a fit Ar Mad put it up to Douvan, Altior et al. If he’s fit and firing then he will take some beating. Looking forward to seeing if he’s back to his best in the Tingle Creek after a poor reappearance at Exeter.
Leaning more and more towards Min for this, participation and injury concerns around all around him. I think he will run in this.
We know how highly they thought of him over hurdles and seemed there were genuine reasons for his performance in the supremes when in reality he did not run badly. At this stage would much rather be with a horse who has had his troubles but has proved to be back rather than one who has mid season issues (altior) or has yet to come back (Douvan) particularly at prices.
I don’t know about you guys but I can’t wait to see a fit Ar Mad put it up to Douvan, Altior et al.
I completely agree. I have always thought Ar Mad could be a star in the making and we definitely haven’t seen the best of him
Going back to the original topic, I think Douvan would beat Altior in the CC. There were moments in the Arkle where Altior looked vulnerable whereas Douvan, other than last time at Cheltenham (where something was clearly wrong) has never looked vulnerable.
charlie87 – glad to see a fellow Ar Mad fan. I love this horse and still remember vividly his performance in the Henry VIII Novice Chase at Sandown 2 years ago when he demolished the field, being Bristol De Mai by 10 lengths and recording a time only 1.6 seconds off Sprinter Sacres best time round the same course and distance.
When he’s on song and jumping fences with that low margin of tolerance he has there is hardly a better sight. He gets away from his fences so quickly. I guess the only problem is when he clips a fence he clips it hard, as he did in last years Tingle Creek. If he gets a clean round of jumping and has recovered from his last run, after which he scoped dirty, then I think he’ll be hard to beat.
I also think horses that tend to like Sandown also like Cheltenham. They are both galloping tracks and suit horses that build up some momentum. Having missed the festival the last two years with injury it would be great to see him finally make it to the Champion Chase this year. I know Gary Moore has stated Ar Mad prefers going right handed but he has been left handed albeit at Plumpton.
If he gets there fighting fit I don’t think it’s a given that the Champion Chase will be a two horse race. Come on Ar Mad.
There’s no way Ar Mad will ever win a Champion Chase going that way round at Cheltenham. Ever.
Connections have always maintained he is a better horse going right-handed.I think you’ll find I acknowledged that he’s better going right handed. Nor did I say he would win a Champion Chase. We simply don’t know at the moment how he would fair around Cheltenham since he’s never raced there. If he arrives at Cheltenham fit and well I see no reason why he wouldn’t be competitive and make a race of it. You know he’ll set off at a pace and that can take some horses out of the comfort zone. I fully expect a fully fit Douvan to win but given the prohibitive odds I think I would take a punt on a horse whom quite simply loves his racing. The no such thing as a sure thing in racing. You never know.
Not my favourite race by any stretch, but always try to find one who might place at bigger odds, and though he’s not in any firms lists yet, I’ll be hoping they aim high with Foxtail Hill.
Dynamite over 2 miles at Cheltenham in October, he’s looked equally as good, particularly today, up to The 2 Mile Mark in the big handicaps. On both occasions the wheels have came off turning for home, and from what I’ve seen, he could, at the very least, give me a run for my money.
Already took 200’s to 240’s.
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