Henderson aiming to enjoy stellar Cheltenham Festival

Henderson aiming to enjoy stellar Cheltenham Festival

Trainer Nicky Henderson will head to the 2020 Cheltenham Festival with one of the strongest team of horses he has ever assembled.

Henderson notched four winners at last year’s meeting, despite his preparations being disrupted by the British Horseracing Authority’s new flu vaccination rules.

He will be eager to beat that figure this time around and wrestle the Festival trainers’ title off Ireland’s Willie Mullins.

Read on as we look at five of Henderson’s best chances for winners at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

Altior – Champion Chase

Altior is attempting to secure a fifth successive victory at the Festival and his third Champion Chase in a row.

The 10-year-old is priced at 2/1 to win the race and there will be plenty of punters eager to use the Cheltenham betting offers at thebookiesoffers to back him to achieve the feat.

Defi Du Seuil and Chacun Pour Soi are expected to provide stiff opposition in what could be one of the most thrilling races of the entire meeting.

Champ – RSA Novices’ Chase

Champ recorded two impressive victories at Newbury back in November to jump to the head of the betting for the RSA Novices’ Chase.

He looked to be on his way to another win at Cheltenham on New Years’ Day, but fell at the second last fence with the race at his mercy.

Henderson is likely to have done plenty of schooling since then and Champ looks a solid wager at odds of 3/1 to regain the winning thread.

Epatante – Champion Hurdle

Epatante was well-backed for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at last year’s Festival, but ran no sort of race and eventually finished ninth.

She has romped to impressive victories at Newbury and Kempton this term, forcing bookmakers to slash her odds to win the Champion Hurdle to around 3/1.

Henderson’s Pentland Hills is also a strong fancy for the race at 5/1 and may represent slightly better value than Epatante.

Santini – Gold Cup

Santini finished second in the RSA Chase last season to state his claim as a potential future star of the staying chaser ranks.

He has recorded victories at Sandown and Cheltenham this season and is currently vying for favouritism with Al Boum Photo for the Gold Cup.

 

The eight-year-old’s chances have been improved by the withdrawal of Native River through injury and he could be worth an interest at odds of around 4/1.

Shishkin – Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

Shishkin fell on his seasonal reappearance at Newbury, but bounced back with a comprehensive victory at the same track during January.

He subsequently followed up with a smooth success at Huntingdon and looks primed to run a huge race at the Festival.

Henderson’s charge can be backed at 11/4 to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and it would be no surprise to see him go off at shorter odds on the day.

Cheltenham is one of the highlights of every year’s horse racing calendar, and this year’s lineup promises to be a fantastic one.

 

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