The Champion Hurdle 2010

davidjohnson said:
On the plus side, there's a chance we'll get to see them against each other pre-Cheltenham, that can't be a bad thing.
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Agreed - not sure why not running them against each other is (or has seemed to be) one of his main priorities - they're owned by different owners and surely you should target each horse at the race most suitable for him and his owners, not the most suitable for N Henderson?
 
Absolutely - and his quote on the Racing Post online smacks of throwing toys out of the pram to me -
"It's thrown everything out of sync, as if it's not out of sync already," he said.

"These are horses that have got to have runs. You can have novice hurdles any day of the week - they do not matter. These other horses do matter.
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There are plenty of novice hurdlers queuing up and down the country for a run!
 
Hamm said:
Agreed - not sure why not running them against each other is (or has seemed to be) one of his main priorities - they're owned by different owners and surely you should target each horse at the race most suitable for him and his owners, not the most suitable for N Henderson?
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Trainers don't think like this though. Anything short of the championship races and they would rather see two horses win two different races than finish first and second to each other. Everyone is of course in pretty much the same boat with regard to the opportunities on offer given the conditions, but it is quite understandable that Henderson should be making these noises whether we empathise with him or not.
 
SteveM said:
Trainers don't think like this though. Anything short of the championship races and they would rather see two horses win two different races than finish first and second to each other. Everyone is of course in pretty much the same boat with regard to the opportunities on offer given the conditions, but it is quite understandable that Henderson should be making these noises whether we empathise with him or not.
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The problem is that by avoiding each other they are running in unsuitable races.

Punjabi was not ready for Newcastle, but rather than just bringing Punjabi to the Boylesports and clash with Binocular (Cheltenham was Bin's original target) he swapped both horses - clearly Binocular himself was not ready for Newcastle himself.

Then rather than bringing Punjabi to the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton (clashing with Binocular) he decides to re-route him to the Welsh Hurdle (no offence to the Welsh..:)).

Meanwhile Zaynar is now likely to miss his 2 mile target at Sandown so that Binocular can run there instead.
 
I enjoyed the CH pullout in today's Post. The "big-race trends" man comes up with "the top Champion Hurdle trends", nine of them: "The only runner with ticks in all the boxes is Go Native." He then crabs the races the horse has won, wrongly saying he won the Boylesports when it was the Fighting Fifth, and concludes: "If something looks too good to be true, it often is, and this may be the case with Go Native's perfect eight out of eight" (which should, of course, read "nine out of nine").

Putting to one side the lamentable errors, this translates as: I don't believe in my own methodology.
 
In the RP today Paul N mentioned Celestial Halo as a possible Irish Champion runner while Willie Mullins said Mikael D'Haguenet will not have an entry in the Cheltenham Champion.
 
It is depressing that now it looks like Ffos Las will go ahead on Sunday yet the welsh Champion has not been saved due apparently it is not yet being part of the pattern.

I thought the reasons given for not rescheduling the Tolworth again were piss poor too.
 
Ardross said:
It is depressing that now it looks like Ffos Las will go ahead on Sunday yet the welsh Champion has not been saved due apparently it is not yet being part of the pattern.

I thought the reasons given for not rescheduling the Tolworth again were piss poor too.
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Yes. Now that it's set to resume there's hardly a race worth watching.

Muirhead has a good opportunity at Listed level in Ireland. Small turn out if it does go ahead.
 
Disappointing news..

By Rodney Masters 8:50AM 18 JAN 2010
ZAYNAR, favourite for the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle, could head to Scotland for his next run.
Trainer Nicky Henderson is “not inclined” to supplement Zaynar for Sunday’s Toshiba Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown and is instead considering a rare excursion to Kelso for next month’s rearranged Morebattle Hurdle.
Henderson is running out of options for his hurdling stars, the big freeze having frustrated his plan to run title-holder Punjabi in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las, and he does not want to run them against each other. Punjabi and Binocular hold entries in Sunday’s Irish Champion but Punjabi is set for Saturday’s Sportingbet.com Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock, while Binocular heads to Sandown next month.
Henderson said: “As we’re not inclined to supplement Zaynar for Ireland, he may well go to Kelso, though nothing concrete has been decided at this stage.
“We’d rather go to Haydock on Saturday with Punjabi. What’s the point in going to Ireland if we can run in England? Haydock should suit him, and he has won in soft ground.”
He confirmed that Binocular will head to Sandown for the Listed Toteswinger Contenders Hurdle on February 6.
Snowed off last week, the Morebattle – once a recognised Champion Hurdle trial won by the likes of Browne’s Gazette and Large Action – will have a very different look about it at Kelso’s ‘Cheltenham Trials’ day on February 18.
Clerk of the course Anthea Morshead said that instead of a handicap the race will now be run as a conditions hurdle over 2m2f.
“I’ve been in touch twice with Nicky about him having a runner, and he seemed enthusiastic about the idea,” she added.
“I’m hoping to encourage several trainers in Ireland to being over runners. We hope to have a sponsor in place by the end of the week.”
 
Voler La Vedette is out of the Irish Champion - pulled muscle.

PS. If Zaynar comes to Kelso, I can assure you it's far from disappointing. :)
 
Galileo said:
Open his bloody eyes and run one of them at leopardstown.
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Is Henderson getting on anyone else's nerves? He's constantly complaining about one thing or another, and for some unknown reason will nor run any of his top 3 contenders for the Champion Hurdle against each other, yet has no issue running Afsoun against Punjabi Saturday.

His moaning about the non-rescheduling of the Welsh Champion hurdle was also wide of the mark. There are plenty of suitable races for his 3 top hurdlers and he should stop his whingeing and run them against each other. Look at Mullins last season with Cousin Vinny and Hurricane Fly - he didn't seem to mind this as what mattered was what was best for each particular horse (with different owners) not what was best for the trainer.

Never mind the fact that he shouldn't even have his license this season.
 
I wish someone would ask him why he will not run them against each other before the Champion - does he not think his owners have the right to run their horses in the races that best suit them rather than the trainer? I think Binocular and Punjabi have been really messed around this season. At least with Denman and Kauto avoiding each other the reason is that Denman is not really a King George horse.
 
Galileo said:
I wish someone would ask him why he will not run them against each other before the Champion - does he not think his owners have the right to run their horses in the races that best suit them rather than the trainer? I think Binocular and Punjabi have been really messed around this season. At least with Denman and Kauto avoiding each other the reason is that Denman is not really a King George horse.
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You can understand why he wants to keep them apart. No owner wants to find out prematurely that they haven't got a Champion Hurdler, particularly if the point is rammed home by a stablemate.
 
davidjohnson said:
You can understand why he wants to keep them apart. No owner wants to find out prematurely that they haven't got a Champion Hurdler, particularly if the point is rammed home by a stablemate.
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Understandable though it certainy wouldn't be my view if I owned one of them. If the horse isn't up to Champion level, pitch him at the level his ability merits. If he is you've missed out on any number of valuable pots that are well worth winning in their own right before Cheltenham.
 
DJ,
I can see your point but he is wasting many good races for them by running them in completely the wrong races to keep them apart.

For example, what in god's name is Punjabi doing going to Ffos las, and Zaynar to Kelso? It's ridiculous when there are so many top hurdle races around, and it's all completely self serving for this trainer.
 
davidjohnson said:
You can understand why he wants to keep them apart. No owner wants to find out prematurely that they haven't got a Champion Hurdler, particularly if the point is rammed home by a stablemate.
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If I was Zaynar I would like to know if I had a Champion Hurdler or a Stayers Hurdler.

Punjabi and Binocular have no other targets.
 
The Times quoted him earlier this week as saying:

Spice will be added to the race today when Nicky Henderson supplements Zaynar, favourite for the Champion Hurdle and still unbeaten after five jumps races. Ironically, Henderson entered his other two Champion candidates for the Leopardstown race but now feels obliged to run Zaynar instead.
“It's become very tricky,” he said. “We've got the Haydock trial next Saturday but I want Punjabi to go there as the track won't suit Zaynar. Binocular is going to Sandown on February 6 so Zaynar will have to go to Ireland.”

Yet at the same time he appeared to be telling the Post he wasn’t inclined to go to Ireland with Zaynar and he hasn’t been supplemented. (Presumably the connections of Zaynar didn't want to fork out for Ireland although Henderson appeared minded to go there with him at the time).
 
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It appears that Mr Henderson considers these horses to be his own. Not uncommon amongst trainers. If he where to bow to pressure from the owners and run them some where it was not his idea to run I'm pretty sure they'd run badly to make a point.

Yet at the same time he appeared to be telling the Post he wasn’t inclined to go to Ireland with Zaynar and he hasn’t been supplemented
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Not his idea than perhaps, is kauto around ?
 
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Probably so. As I've only just added in above: Presumably the connections of Zaynar didn't want to fork out for Ireland although Henderson appeared minded to go there with him at the time
 
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