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His tail goes up for a couple of flights and his stride shortens when they stack up a bit going down the back but I’d expect to see sketchy jumping if he’d done something that far back.
Damn shame.
What’s the roll call now with Hendo’s stars ?
The fracas with Altior, one or two with Binocular, Constitution Hill, Sprinter Sacre..several more with scares.I’ll never forget him talking about Chablais after it won at Kempton despite veering left at almost every fence. ” It’ll never go that way again ”
Next up – Ascot.
Finished last, with the vet noting the horse was distressed, and never raced again.So glad the news today is more positive I feared the worse. Even Cheltenham seem to go silent. His tail carriage went high from hurdle three he was feeling something before the injury happened.
VF x
If we dug into the career of any trainer we would find countless cases of unfulfilled equine potential and careers cut short.
The reason why Henderson’s horses get so much attention is because he has trained numerous superstars, and all credit to him for getting these horses to reach such heights.
A considerable proportion of the circus that surrounds his horses is because they are so good, and I am sure this is more because of his involvement rather than in spite of it. While he clearly has his flaws, I think some of the comments on this thread are giving him an unduly hard time.
Totally agree Marlingford , the wastage rate of burnt out 2 year olds from factory stables being rammed round in OZ for the Golden Slipper etc would be many times Hendersons .
Yeah but look at how Mullins has handled and maximised the potential of his stars , let’s be brutal Nicky couldn’t train a Breeders cup winner …
But he’s trained plenty of winners on the flat here over the years. How many years has it taken Mullins to become the superstar trainer he is now? During which time Henderson has produced class horse after class horse, year in year out for decades. He’s forgotten more about horses than most trainers will ever know. Ok, he seems to be on the downgrade now but let’s not forget how consistent he has been over the years. And he’s probably still the only English trainer that has any sort of a chance of winning any of the Cheltenham races.
Thank goodness the inetrnet didn’t exist when See You Then was around. The Hendo-bashing would have been even worse than it is now.
“Yeah but look at how Mullins has handled and maximised the potential of his stars , let’s be brutal Nicky couldn’t train a Breeders cup winner …”
Constitution Hill had already won a Supreme and a Champion Hurdle before he got injured. Sprinter Sacre was already a champion before he had his heart problem. Altior a champion already before that grueller of a race. People criticise Henderson for wrapping up his horses in cotton wool but he didn’t with Sprinter Sacre sending him to Ireland and Altior having that gruelling race yet he gets criticised by some for not running his horses enough. He can’t win. These are all high profile horses that have been in the media spotlight. I expect there are smaller trainers who have had horses go wrong but we don’t hear about it because they are not ‘in the news’.
He can’t be blamed for what happened to Sir Gino with the leg infection that kept him off and what happened on Saturday.Apart from arguably saying more than he needs to as a Unibet ambassador, I don’t have a problem with Henderson or his ability with training horses.
Willie had high profile horses like Pont Alexandre who died at the Festival, Dancing City who died at Sandown, Ferny Hollow who died at Cork and Facile Vega who died during training to name a few. So no trainer is free from tragic events.
Fortunately for Willie, he doesn’t have to answer to any bookmaker sponsors so keeps some of it to himself until he feels like saying something or is asked. For example, where’s Impaire Et Passe? Is he injured? Will we see him again this season? Does he have a Spring target? If Henderson was training him he would’ve been asked about him more than once by now.
I am hoping you, and perhaps one or two others being overly harsh, will cut him some slack after reading this.
Dancing City is an excellent example Mike007. A multiple Grade 1 winner over hurdles who would have been the star of many smaller stables. But major jumping flaws surfaced during his novice chasing campaign, and whether Mullins was taking a wise decision by running him in the bet365 where he fell fatally is certainly debatable.
There are many other Mullins horses who have failed to live up to expectations. I have no interest in knocking Mullins who, like Henderson, is an exceptional trainer. But none of them are perfect, and it is a risky sport. Keeping any star fit and well for a long period requires both skill and luck.
“People criticise Henderson for wrapping up his horses in cotton wool but he didn’t with Sprinter Sacre sending him to Ireland and Altior having that gruelling race yet he gets criticised by some for not running his horses enough.”
I think the point is Henderson has adopted a more defensive approach since then, especially so since Altior’s defeat. It seemed to get to him.
“I am hoping you, and perhaps one or two others being overly harsh, will cut him some slack after reading this.”
There is still just about free speech in this country, Mike. You are free to disagree but you do not have the right to tell other people what they should post.
Maybe you might like to stop posting bogus prices you have never got and claiming to have cashed out when you never have. Something which brings this forum into disrepute far more than any critical comments about Henderson.
“I think the point is Henderson has adopted a more defensive approach since then, especially so since Altior’s defeat. It seemed to get to him.”
Nothing defensive about running Sir Gino on Saturday taking on The New Lion with a penalty.
“There is still just about free speech in this country, Mike. You are free to disagree but you do not have the right to tell other people what they should post.”
Not saying there isn’t, I should be allowed to say if people are being overly harsh and explain my reasons why.
“Maybe you might like to stop posting bogus prices you have never got and claiming to have cashed out when you never have. Something which brings this forum into disrepute far more than any critical comments about Henderson.”
lol not this again. Get over it m8, free your mind of this suspiciousness, it can’t be good for you.
“I have no interest in knocking Mullins who, like Henderson, is an exceptional trainer. But none of them are perfect, and it is a risky sport. Keeping any star fit and well for a long period requires both skill and luck.”
Well said Marlingford.
”Yeah but look at how Mullins has handled and maximised the potential of his stars”
Willie is a brilliant trainer but he’s had all sorts of issues with plenty of good horses in the past. You don’t notice it as much as he always has another star to replace the injured horse.
Willie’s true genius for me, has always been his ability to get the good horses before everyone else. He essentially has the French market sowed up with Henderson pretty much the only other trainer getting the occasional star.
I use to be extremely critical of Willie for not being able to keep his top horses sound so there’s plenty he failed to maximize their potential.
Below is a thread I created a few years back and there’s plenty more you could add to the list now :His handling of El Fabiolo has been poor also. That horse should’ve been sent back hurdling a long time ago. Had all the ability to challenge for a champion hurdle.
Where Willie excels vs Hendo is balls. Henderson has lost his in his old age.
Shishkin was an absolute superstar and should’ve won a Gold Cup but the man refuses to take a chance. You could clearly see even when he won the Supreme, that he wasn’t a 2 miler.Willie would’ve won a Gold Cup with that horse 100%
Mike, you have been given plenty of opportunities to name the bookmakers (or post screenshots) that have allowed you to take these bogus prices or make fantasy cash outs. You have steadfastly refused to do so. I am not the only poster to have called you out. Whether you like it or not, your integrity is in question.
You were at it again last week, saying you backed a horse antepost for the Cheltenham Hunter Chase and then claiming to have cashed out after the horse ran like a drain at Thurles. If you did cash out, it would have been for a fraction of your stake. If not, name the bookmaker which allowed you to cash out a completely dud bet (on which it stood to win) and post the screenshot as proof. Oh, guess what, you won’t.
As for Henderson, no one is questioning his record of training Grade 1 winners. But to my mind he crossed a line during his ridiculous interview with Lydia Hislop over withdrawing Altior from the Tingle Creek. He claimed the ground was “heavy”. A cursory examination of the times shows the ground was probably not even soft.
He then stupidly said that Cheltenham was “the only day that matters”, which I am sure Sandown was delighted to hear about its Grade 1 race and Betfair was so pleased to hear about the race it had sponsored.
His campaigning of Constitution Hill has been questionable and (at the risk of contradicting myself) his decision to run Sir Gino on Saturday was bizarre.
“Mike, you have been given plenty of opportunities to name the bookmakers (or post screenshots) that have allowed you to take these bogus prices or make fantasy cash outs. You have steadfastly refused to do so. I am not the only poster to have called you out. Whether you like it or not, your integrity is in question.”
Get off your high horse, and off my back. You talk like you own this site and are the spokesperson of everyone and you ain’t. Others have said they have cashed out on the forum yet you are not calling them out for proof. Forum rules state not putting up prices that have gone long ago and I follow those rules. Proof is not needed.
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