Nicky Henderson says Champ will probably be able to go when he makes his seasonal debut within the Grade One Howden Lengthy Stroll Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday, reside on Sky Sports activities Racing.
The JP McManus-owned 11-year-old completed third behind fellow veteran Paisley Park final yr when the race was run at Kempton after Ascot was deserted, having triumphed within the 3m 0.5f contest first day out in 2021.
Final season, Champ had edged out Paisley Park a month earlier in a hard-fought Lengthy Distance Hurdle at Newbury, a race Henderson selected to bypass this time period to be able to hold him contemporary.
Chatting with Sky Sports activities Racing on Thursday, Henderson mentioned: “He’s one of our real friends, he’s been here a long, long time. He’s lived up to his name in a lot of ways, you couldn’t have a nicer horse, you couldn’t have a more honest horse.
“He is very laidback about his work from home, he does not present you an enormous quantity and he likes to be contemporary. So final yr he began at Newbury the place he had a improbable battle with Paisley Park within the Lengthy Distance Hurdle, however we all the time thought he was probably finest first day out, or very contemporary, so we have saved him again particularly to have a crack at this once more.”
Champ is certainly one of 10 horses declared for the Lengthy Stroll Hurdle, together with Paisley Park, who additionally claimed the honours in 2018 and 2020, and one other veteran in Dashel Drasher.
Crambo and West Balboa head the youthful brigade, whereas Paul Nicholls and Gary Moore will each be double-handed with Blueking D’Oroux and Crimson Threat and Botox Has and Goshen respectively, with Gowel Highway finishing the sphere.
“I don’t think you’d be very confident about any of these Grade One races, it’s going to be very competitive,” added Henderson. “We know there is sure to be a solid gallop with Dashel Drasher there. Paisley Park will be lurking around and one minute you will think you’ve got him covered and he’ll suddenly reappear at the death. It should be good!”
Crambo stepping up for O’Brien
Crambo, certainly one of final season’s main novice hurdlers, received at Aintree on his seasonal debut earlier than ending third behind Slate Lane at Haydock and his coach Fergal O’Brien is testing the water in Grade One firm.
He instructed Sky Sports activities Racing: “I’ve been delighted with Crambo since he came back in. Noel Fehily does the pre-training with him. When he came back to us he just seemed a lot sharper this time, and when we started schooling him he was really good.
“We thought initially we could go straight to Haydock however three miles first day out can be only a bit an excessive amount of for him, so we needed to pop in a race round Aintree (2m 4f) which he received very comfortably, went up three or 4 kilos within the handicap for that one, and went on to Haydock and carried an terrible lot of weight. He gave weight away and beat some good horses and on one other day with a bit extra luck I feel he would have practically received.
“I just think we’ve got to give this a go and it will give us a good sighter of where we go forward from here. There’s some nice horses in there and he really does have to step up going into very deep waters but he’s a young horse, he’s on the up and I’m really looking forward to running him.
“He is skilled very properly since Haydock. He is a bit like Dysart Enos, and all these good horses, he does not present you a large number at dwelling however we all know he is properly in himself, so fingers crossed he can have a giant run.”
Botox Has bids to observe up Wetherby win
Botox Has produced arguably a career-best when claiming Wetherby’s Grade Two West Yorkshire Hurdle final month and Moore has been ready for a crack at this Grade One ever since.
“I’m looking forward to running him and the form is working out well,” mentioned Moore. “Hopefully he is as good as he was that day at Wetherby but time will tell.
“He is all the time been a good horse and he was most likely probably the greatest English horses throughout his juvenile yr – if it had not been for Goshen he would have been the highest four-year-old, he is all the time been horse. He did not actually take to chasing however has carried out properly reverting again to hurdles.”
Three chances for Henderson in valuable finale
Meanwhile, Henderson will be triple-handed in the closing Betfair Exchange Trophy with the JP McManus-owned duo Iberico Lord and Impose Toi joined by the mare Luccia in the 11-strong field for the 1m 7.5f handicap hurdle.
The Seven Barrows handler said on Thursday: “We’re very completely satisfied [with them]. Iberico Lord is in nice order, he simply jumped 5 hurdles this morning, he seemed very, very sharp.
“Impose Toi, he won at Cheltenham and we were thinking of going to Sandown but that ground was so unattractive. We’ve kept him back and JP was happy to run the two against each other. They’re the same age, they’re the same profile, they’ve both been doing very well so they’ve got to take each other on. It’s a very, very big prize and you probably need all the bullets you can find.
“Luccia is lurking there, I feel, fairly menacingly. She simply jumped half a dozen hurdles with Paul O’Brien, who’s going to trip her, this morning and she or he’s in actually good condition. She will get a good bit of weight off the opposite two this time.”
Watch all of the motion from the Christmas Racing Weekend at Ascot on Friday and Saturday reside on Sky Sports activities Racing, with the Lengthy Stroll Hurdle due off at 2.25pm on Saturday.