The drumbeats are quickening ahead of the Cheltenham Festival and at this stage there really is no substitute for going racing. Some might have ducked Newbury’s Betfair Hurdle meeting on Saturday because of the bitter wind, which made a hot-water bottle the most prized object on the winner’s rostrum, and because the other two key races on the card were reduced to three and four runners. More fool them. Both produced intriguing contests and vital clues for the Festival.
An earnest statistician once asked a northern trainer what the crucial signs were that told her when one of her horses was ready to win a race. She replied, ‘Just one. A grin on my husband’s face after he comes in from the gallops.’ You had only to take one look at Nicky Henderson’s wide-eyed smile, half relief at surviving the conditions, half sheer joy at the quality of what we had just seen, to know that Altior in the Racing Post Arkle Chase is his banker for this year’s Festival.
We all know how much Nicky adores the iconic Sprinter Sacre, who looked glorious despite the snow as he pranced around the parade ring before racing.
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