If the brutal wind that whistled through Nicky Henderson’s Seven Barrows stables here on Wednesday morning was a herald for the weather that may send National Hunt into hibernation for the next few days, the horses on parade were a reminder that there will be much to look forward to when it wakes up. Henderson has already won the Betfair Hurdle five times, more than any other trainer, and hopes to send at least two runners, and perhaps as many as four, to this year’s renewal of the season’s richest two-mile handicap hurdle, the feature event on Betfair day at Newbury on 7 February.
The Betfair Hurdle is no longer the plotters’ playground that it was in its youth, first as the Schweppes and then the Tote Gold Trophy. As Henderson put it with some well-chosen words here on Wednesday: “The race had a serious mystique about it [in its early days], if you wanted to win it, you certainly seemed to have to prepare for quite a long time.”
There is little point in trying to hide a stone or two from the handicapper now, though, because it will only ensure that you miss the cut, and Sign Of A Victory, the horse that may end up leading Henderson’s challenge on Saturday week was considered a potential Champion Hurdle contender at the start of the season. He finished well beaten behind Faugheen, the Champion Hurdle favourite, at Kempton on Boxing Day, but could yet earn a place in the field at Cheltenham with a big run under 11st 7lb.
“Sign Of A Victory does want good ground, or he’s a better horse on good ground, but we’d be pretty keen for him to run,” Henderson said. “We’d had funny issues with him prior to Kempton and I can’t believe you saw him at his very best that day. He wasn’t going to beat [Faugheen] in a million years but he should have been second.
“He was the one horse that looked capable of giving Faughen some sort of contest [turning in] but he just didn’t get home. He’d have to run an incredible race on Saturday [to go to the Champion] but why not? He’s been working very well and he’s coming in off a clean preparation.”
The other horse from Seven Barrows who is inked in for Newbury is Vasco Du Ronceray, who was fifth home behind Our Conor in the 2013 Triumph Hurdle and won his most recent start at Haydock Park in November.
“He hasn’t run since then and he went a bit quiet on us for a bit,” Henderson said, “but the last couple of weeks he’s been in very good form. He’d be at least where he was when he appeared at Haydock. He’s sharp enough and he’d handle the ground and be competitive, like about 30 others.”
Snake Eyes, the beaten favourite for the Boylesports Hurdle in Ireland earlier this month, is the shortest price of any of Henderson’s entries in the ante-post betting, but is 43rd on the list of 46 horses still engaged for a race with a maximum field of 24.
As a result, Dawalan could yet emerge as an interesting runner from the stable if a planned trip to Musselburgh on Sunday is frustrated by the weather.
“It didn’t sound great [at Musselburgh] this morning and I don’t think they know what they’ve got coming,” Henderson said. “If Dawalan for any reason didn’t go there, I would think about him coming in [for the Betfair Hurdle]. He’s just working very well at the moment – and he seems in terrific form.”
Looking beyond Newbury to Cheltenham in March, Sprinter Sacre, Henderson’s best chaser, is about to begin his buildup to the Queen Mother Champion Chase after a short break following his second-place finish in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot this month.
“He’s just had a nice quiet little 10 days, and he’s started cantering,” Henderson said. “It will be a fortnight before he starts doing anything serious. I know that Nico [de Boinville, Sprinter Sacre’s work rider] thinks that schooling him is fun for the horse, so we will school him.
“What he did at Ascot was all right. He’s only got to come along from there and we’ll be happy, and he should do. Hopefully he will go forwards, not backwards, he ran a very good race [at Ascot] and he’ll improve. He’s 100%.”
The online bookmaker Betway, which will sponsor the Queen Mother Champion Chase for the first time this year, will also support four significant races during the 2015 Flat season.
The firm will sponsor the Lincoln and the Chester Cup, two of the most competitive handicaps in the opening weeks of the campaign, as well as the Group Two Yorkshire Cup at York in mid-may and the Great Voltigeur Stakes at the same track’s Ebor meeting in August.
