Graham Cunningham's Festival File Part Five | Here for Hendo's golden autumn

A week that started with grievous news at home has ended with a dramatic showdown in the Saudi desert. The racing circus moves on, as ever, but one small word sparks several key questions.

How do you rally after a week like this?

Maybe it’s too soon, but a midweek trip to Ludlow provided some timely reminders of little things that combine to mean a lot.

Snowy-white Smad Place leading the old lads’ parade and giggling kids skittering around proving the age of the autograph hunter isn’t quite over.

Middle aged fans making a ‘Behind The Scenes’ event feel like an Invades bash for boomers and grizzled old Salopians catching up over tea and cake in the lounge past the winning post.

Bowen, Sheehan, De Boinville, Burke, Deutsch, Sam Twister and others bowing for a minute of solemn silence broken only by the gently mesmerising sound of hooves on rubber.

The digital image of a lone horse leading a phalanx of umbrella carrying mourners towards a mournful church in County Cork.

Harry Atkins enjoying the ride of his young life as galloping grey Sacre Coeur jumps her rivals silly and, as daylight slips away, Ben Pauling filming on his mobile as his baby faced 10lb claimer Elliott England notches a first winner in the nightcap.

But, with young riders stealing the show, the moment that truly resonates comes as that funeral gathering settle into their seats.

Forged in Festival fire aged just 18 then burned by a different flame in a heavy fall at Wolverhampton 20 years later, Fran Berry joins the Sportinglife Podcast and tells of a gathering of clans at Michael O’Sullivan’s wake.

The man who used Khayrawani’s Coral Cup as a springboard to over 1,300 Flat wins has planned his course but a wave engulfs him as he reaches the part about being “proud to be part of a sport that treats people well when the chips are down.”

I suspect you’ve seen the clip, but it bears a second gander because it shines vital light on the subtle yet powerful layers that lie just beneath the surface of a sport that can seem stark to a wider world.

Back in that troubled world, rumblings from over the border in Wales, where news of a ban on greyhound racing is welcomed by a PETA mouthpiece who ends her LBC slot by hoping her next appearance is to celebrate the abolition of horse racing.

That lady probably has little idea of recent events in Ireland and the way people all over the world have responded.

It could be because of Michael’s singular attributes – or maybe we are all finally getting better at letting inner emotions surface - but something about the passing of this lad has struck a powerful chord.

I looked up the story of Fran’s retirement on the RP website and, embedded in Andrew Dietz’s news story about six fractured vertebrae and four broken ribs, was a Tweet from a friend and rival that read:

“Happy retirement to @Franmberry. Sad day but the future is bright. Very intelligent fellow that will be successful in whatever he chooses to do.”

That message, posted in the spring of 2019, was from Pat Smullen.

Life is precarious but racing has a rare way of rallying when the chips are down. And as the Ludlow lights went out on a chilly midweek night, Fran wasn’t the only one feeling proud to be immersed in it.

How does the ageless Hendo do it?

Pinpointing the moment when I hopped off the Seven Barrows bandwagon is tricky.

It wasn’t before I went there for the RP in 2002 and compared the vibe between Nicky and longtime assistant Corky Browne as ‘like The Fast Show’s Ted and Ralph, minus the sexual tension.’

It might have been when Constitution Hill’s owner Michael Buckley penned a rasping letter to the Post inviting me to return to the yard and muck out for a week because I had the temerity to question Hendo’s views on race planning in a column.

The Moonlit Path medication case and the dawn of Nicky’s cotton wool era played a part and I’ve taken to hijacking the Sportinglife Podcast to joke that the most accomplished British trainer in Festival history shouldn’t be immortalised in bronze at Cheltenham.

But times change and, fully 40 years on from his first Festival successes, the old Ronnie Corbett soundalike has started to grow on me again.

Perhaps it’s because it’s hard to rail against a 74-year-old bloke with dodgy mince pies when you’re 64 and can barely see beyond the end of your nose.

Or maybe it’s because Hendo is clearly savouring the golden autumn of his epic career with an appetite for battle that burns as bright as ever.

Either way, a trawl through five decades of NJH Festival success – from See You Then in 1985 to Constitution Hill in 2023 – provides countless chances to reminisce.

How to choose the Hall of Famers?

Compiling a top five from 73 is almost impossible but I suspect a few fellow fossils will have a soft spot for The Tsarevich, who won the old Mildmay of Flete in ’85 and ’86 before finishing second in Maori Venture’s National.

Remittance Man was a mighty horse when winning the Arkle and Champion Chase in ‘91 and ‘92 and Binocular coming back from the dead – well, back from Martinstown spa - to land the 2010 Champion scores strongly for intrigue value.

Zaynar’s Triumph in ’09 is hovering just outside the top bracket because I seem to recall it was needed (make that badly needed) financially.

And Bellvano’s Grand Annual in 2012 deserves an honourable mention, first because it gave Nicky a seventh winner of the week and second because it came via a Carberry ride that still tingles the spine.

But it’s hard to get away from Sprinter Sacre and Long Run as Hendo’s modern day Festival headliners.

Sprinter Sacre sparked bedlam when banishing heart trouble and a spell in the wilderness to regain his Champion Chase Crown in 2016, while the image of young prince Long Run charging past old kings Kauto and Denman in the 2011 Gold Cup is another must for the Hendo Hall of Festival Fame.

Henderson snagged a second Gold Cup in 2015 and it’s remarkable to think he had at least one winner at every Festival for 15 consecutive years prior to last year’s blowout.

Sir Gino’s injury deprives the 2025 squad of a key striker but Constitution Hill, Jonbon and Lulamba represent Britain’s three best hopes of G1 glory next month.

A second champion for Constitution Hill would match Henderson’s Festival score to the age on his bus pass amid a record that invites a rethink from snipers and jokers, especially this one.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve no plans to take up that Buckers offer to shovel Seven Barrows of shit for my sins. But I’m certainly happy to suspend the SNS (Stop Nicky’s Statue) campaign until further notice.

How’s your ante post book looking?

Mine’s a blank canvas but that puts me in a media minority and I’ve been keeping a beady eye on various leading gasbags and Big Tone in search of inspiration.

Upping The Ante duo Jennings are deep in portfolio territory with a few occupational hazard stumers nicely offset by big-priced steers for Romeo Coolio, July Flower, Fact To File and Lulamba.

Road To Cheltenham ruler Hislop has a slimmer pamphlet with a canny 5/1 Majborough docket and a side of Lossiemouth, while Ruminating Ruby is making Kevin ‘No Bet’ Pullein look like Harry Findlay on a heater.

The Pricewise pack has been bolstered by Golden Ace and Hello Neighbour this week, while Big Tone is waiting on the weather and poor Alex Hammond says: “My ante-post portfolio has been blown apart, first by The Jukebox Man and now by Sir Gino.”

Meanwhile, I’m emulating the Donald on healthcare in that I have “concepts of a plan” that stalls every time I see the sea of similarity on Oddschecker.

Most key players will be the same price or bigger come the day barring withdrawals, and be you backer or layer, a lot turns on one simple question:

How will the 2025 Grade 1 Bankers fare?

You’ve probably noticed we have five G1 jollies trading at odds on and as many again likely to go off at 2/1 or shorter at this year’s Festival.

And you may be aware that some who’ve been laying Willie’s skinny ‘uns blind in recent years are walking round with holes in their shoes.

But each Festival brings new riddles and, at the risk of covering ground raked over at length elsewhere, it’s worth a line or two on this year’s G1 jollies.

Kopek Des Bordes (Supreme)

He could ascend to the Mt Rushmore of novices, or he could simply rush more and open the door for others. Either way, the fiery streak he showed before crushing his Leopardstown foes can’t be ignored.

Majborough (Arkle)

No Sir Gino, no problem. That script played out for the ‘24 Triumph but what if L’eau De Sud and the bold Harry start winging fences upsides the youngster?

Constitution Hill (Champion)

We can’t be sure he’s the irresistible force of old and we don’t know if Brighterdaysahead runs where she ought to. But we do know the former champ is 4/6 and, over two weeks out, it feels a bit tight.

Final Demand (Turners)

Did anyone else think of Denman as this specimen powered clear at the DRF? The Tank got turned over at 11/10 in this race in 2006 but this lad and The New Lion look set for a right day two tussle.

Jonbon (Champion Chase)

The idea that he doesn’t handle Cheltenham well is right up there in this year’s Crackpot Theory Stakes. But what if Gaelic Warrior revives and a certain French youth arrives? Game on, if so.

Fact To File (Ryanair)

I’m still not convinced that JP and dem boys won’t give him one last chance to show he’s a Gold Cup horse. And I don’t think he has enough in hand of Protektorat and co to think he’s a viable 6/4 chance.

Teahupoo (Stayers’)

I’m not the first to suggest that another kid glove campaign makes me shout ‘down with this sort of thing.’ But have you seen the opposition? Thin gruel by G1 standards.

Lulamba (Triumph)

Looked the business at Ascot but he’s short on experience for the Triumph. The market has swayed in East India Dock’s slick jumping direction recently – and it’s probably right to do so.

Galopin Des Champs (Gold Cup)

An elegant black shadow set to be the shortest priced jolly of the week. GDC would be aiming for a fifth consecutive Festival success but for that memorable last fence tumble in 2022. Randomness always lurks – but it’s hard to find a genuine flaw.

How do the BHA lads get back in the game?

Lastly, it would be remiss not to mention the half time report on a two-year trial of Premier Racing published in midweek.

And with betting turnover on the slide both overall and at major festivals, it feels like BHA FC (no, not Brighton and Hove Albion) are two down and playing into the wind as the crowd gets restless.

It was understandable to see interim boss Richard Wayman placing affordability checks atop his list of reasons for a slide down the league but a few of his other blame points are far less persuasive.

• Lack of competition at Cheltenham and the abandonment of the cross-country race? Hmm.
• Royal Ascot clashing with the Euros and blockbuster games such as Croatia v Albania and Slovenia v Serbia? C’mon man.
• And the National being run at 4pm not 5.15? Or, in other words, right on the edge of the window the BHA have been protecting at all costs.

Stuart Riley’s Premierisation Report Card in the RP made for sobering reading, with a Fail in five of ten key areas and negative trends looming in several others.

Brandishing the expulsion tool seems pointless given the lack of funds at the club and, with previous boss Harrington heading to Chester on a free, the need for a strong, dynamic new gaffer is urgent

But, joking apart, an increase in silly start times and a sustained squeeze on prize money means Britain’s smaller race clubs and their fans are getting precious little from the current deal.

And, with the second half well under way, the lads in Premier seats will be leaning even harder on their World Pool revenue if caretaker coach Wayman and his board can’t turn things round.

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