- This topic has 130 replies, 38 voices, and was last updated 5 years ago by
.
- Posts
Shame to see Altior beaten today , and I’m not really sure what to make of it to be honest.
Perhaps it is Old Father Time simply catching up with the old lad , like he does with each of us. It didn’t seem like his true form to me , and he was being scrubbed along a long way out.
It could be simply that the stable are under the weather e.g. the defeat of Epatante being a case in point. Alternatively it could be that the horse really doesn’t like the ground as the trainer has previously stated.
Perhaps it’s a bit of each. Only time will tell , but I cannot see him being able to handle Chacun Pour Soi when that day arrives.Something clearly wron in his yard.
Another load of bollox from him in the Post today:
“I go back to Ascot last year, he was almost unconscious at the end of that. That was a race that came too soon in the season for us and I don’t suppose it did him any good.
“Talking to Simon Knapp and Clive Hamblin [both vets], who walked in behind him that day, they did fear for him. We got to the bottom, we emptied the bucket that day and the ref was about to count him out. Whether that’s left a scar on him, it’s all about getting his confidence back now.”
It’s as if no other horse ever had a hard race – has he never watched (for example) Desert Orchid winning the Gold Cup and he came back as good as ever the following season.
It’s probably heresy to point it out, but Altior has dominated a weak division throughout his career, ducking the challenge of longer trips until that much discussed Ascot race. If you compile a list of the runners up in all his wins, the only top class horse he ever beat was Un De Sceaux, who was the same age as Altior is now in that 2018 Tingle Creek.
If you re-watch the race yesterday, look at the time that Altior spends in the air over the fences, compared to the winner. It’s my view that he has never jumped as fast and fluently as the very best 2M chasers, and in fact his jumping style is much more suited to 3M races. Now that age is reducing his basic speed, he can no longer use his magnificent stride and engine to compensate.
As for Henderson, he increasingly gives life to the old cliche – “He used to be indecisive, but now he’s not so sure.”
Excellent post, ap. I fully agree with you about a rather weak 2m division he was able to dominate, but he never was anywhere near Sprinter Sacre when comparing their best performances.
He is now saying he is shutting up shop for a few days as his horses are not quite right. Take that as you will but bizarelly he is still running some tomorrow at Newbury
Definitely been some strange quotes coming out of Seven Barrows recently. Think NH should perhaps consider flat training, seems more and more obsessed with wanting good ground. Tends to sling it down a fair bit in English winter time….
BUY THE SUN
He is now saying he is shutting up shop for a few days as his horses are not quite right. Take that as you will but bizarelly he is still running some tomorrow at Newbury
Fair enough if certain barns had the lurgy but others doing ok
His latest comment on Altior, quoted in the Guardian today:
“He was unconscious for three weeks after that Ascot race last year. If I’d run him at Sandown in the Tingle Creek, he’d still be unconscious now. He got beaten at Kempton but I haven’t got him unconscious.”
Unconcious?
“When I use a word,” Humpty Henderson said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”
Curiouser and curiouser.
Even allowing for dramatic licence, it is another ridiculous comment from Henderson.
It is also a gift to racing’s critics. If a horse was really unconscious after just one race, what is it doing in training?
People in racing ought to be much more careful about the language they use.
I see Altior has a Ryanair entry
He has gone from in Hendersons words being an out and out 2 miler to potentially King George runner to an out and out miler to looking like he needs to step up in trip…
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Dan Skelton in the Racing Post:
“The whole idea of needing an undefeated champion and having a whole season that revolves around Cheltenham isn’t good for the sport.”
I wonder at whom that barb is aimed?
Excellent interview from Skelton for me. And yes I wonder too.
It’s surely reaching breaking point when a brilliant historic race like the Tingle Creek is getting rubbished as a ‘trial’.
Can’t think why sponsorship and prize money are a problem…..
BUY THE SUN
I read an article in “Racing Ahead” magazine written by Ben Morgan in which he defended Henderson’s decision about Altior and the Tingle Creek and said he had earned the right to do whatever he wants.
I think that is a ridiculous statement. Is he really suggesting that Henderson can never be wrong and should not be the subject of any scrutiny or criticism? If so, that is not healthy for racing. No one is bigger than the sport, no matter how successful they have been.
What he means is:
“There isn’t a three runner graduation chase worth twenty grand just down the road from Lambourn.”
He could of course run Champ in the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock on Saturday week, but that’s one of those horrible handicap things, which would mean Champ might have to, God forbid, carry top weight. And that would obviously be too stressful considering it’s only eight weeks before Cheltenham. Wouldn’t want another ‘unconcious’ chaser in the yard, would we Nicky?
Champ has a Stayers Hurdle entry (currently 27 on Betfair). It must be worth throwing a bit his way. If he flops in the Cotswold Chase, there would have to be a huge doubt in him going to the Gold Cup and if he lines up in the Stayers he will be a fraction of the price.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.