Nicky Henderson Cheltenham Festival stable tour 2025

While being dealt the cruel blow that ante-post My Pension Expert Arkle favourite Sir Gino will miss the race after picking up a season-ending infection earlier this month, the Seven Barrows master still looks to have plenty of aces up his sleeve.

With 2023 Unibet Champion Hurdle hero Constitution Hill back to his best and Jonbon the horse to beat in the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase, the team Henderson looks set to send to the meeting appears to be an exciting one. And on the 40th anniversary of his first Festival winner with See You Then in the 1985 Champion Hurdle, it would take a brave man from betting against one of National Hunt racing’s most-loved characters adding to his 73 previous winners at the meeting.

Henderson said: “I’ve not added it up, but there will be plenty across the board there this year. I can remember a few that ran well last year, but we left the A-team behind. You just need one and that will be good."

However, while Sir Gino will be a high-profile absentee from his team, Henderson warned William Hill Hurdle winner Joyeuse and multiple course scorer Hyland are also likely to be missing from his team with other targets nominated for the pair.

Henderson added of Sir Gino: "He's still in the clinic and he will be there for another week. They are hoping if he stays the same for another week then we might be coming out of the woods, but there is still a way to go yet.

“They are positive because it is staying where it is. He is very happy and he honestly doesn’t know what is going on. He is in no pain or anything, but we have got to get the bug under control. It is this kind of superbug that gets into them. How it gets into them I’ve got no idea. It is very rare, and it can be dangerous. I think I have seen one other with it like it.

“I think the idea is to go for the Morebattle Hurdle with Joyeuse and that is where I’m thinking. It is a very valuable race. She can’t run in a handicap hurdle at Cheltenham as she hasn’t had enough runs, but this is worth a good few thousand pounds more than the County Hurdle.

“I think a day out in Kelso is what it will be, but we will see.

“We are doing something different with Hyland. He will go to Kempton Park on Saturday and then hopefully he will get into the Grand National, so he won’t be at Cheltenham.”

Nicky Henderson possible Cheltenham Festival runners

Chantry House (Ultima Handicap Chase)

"He is in good form, but he was meant to go hunter chasing, however I stupidly won a rather good race with him. He will be in the Ultima Handicap Chase and I suspect we will have a look at that with him."

Constitution Hill (Champion Hurdle)

"Everything has been good, although it didn’t start that well as we had to miss the Fighting Fifth, but on the other hand we had a super-sub up there. He came in at Kempton Park in the Christmas Hurdle and he has been terrific. From my point of view, and I said this to Sophie, I hated Cheltenham (International Hurdle) the other day.

"We went into Kempton with half a mind that he could easily get beaten. If he did we felt if he got beaten then that we would be alright in March. He was good at Kempton Park. Cheltenham was something else though and that absolutely did me in. It was a no win situation unless he did something, which he did do, by keeping everyone on their toes by trying to destroy a hurdle.

"He was really good and that was the only result that was any good to us so it does put the pressure on us a bit. He was great and he enjoyed himself. I didn’t need to do it all (give him another run), but we walked away from Kempton certainly not expecting to run him again before March. I had no intention of it, but he came back and a week later he was so well in himself and bright.

"I said no we won’t, but then I’ve done the complete opposite as I’m the one who said ‘come on let’s go again’. I surprised everyone I expect. I hope he is going to be absolutely spot on in March. His work is the same, and I expect Nico (de Boinville) will have a sit on him this week to see where he is and how he feels. I suppose you would want him to jump a hurdle at some stage to eliminate what he did at the last hurdle the other day.

"I’m not sure what he did the other day as I’ve watched it a few times. In the Champion Hurdle two years ago he did something relatively daft. A lot of horses would have fallen the other day, and a lot of horses couldn’t have done what he did in the Champion Hurdle. In the Champion Hurdle he took off so far away he got half way there he said I’m not going to get there and lifts in the air. Basically, he had to be an aeroplane to do that as he generally did find another leg, and you can only do that if you are on a fresh horse. The other day he found a leg and galloped off as he is still a fresh horse and that is the only reason you get away with it.

"They are still very good horses (he has got to beat). We are now two years on and a lot of things have happened in the meantime. The Willie Mullins racing festival didn’t tell us everything because they were going very hard that day (Lossiemouth and State Man) and it would have been fascinating to know what the end product was. It has left more questions than answers as one of them was going to get beaten. Where would that have left the market and what would everyone be thinking? Unless they dead-heated one of them was no longer going to be Willie’s number one whatever happened. It was inconclusive. We didn’t know what Lossiemouth was going to come up at Leopardstown compared to Kempton Park. They are both still there and in the wings to see if we can keep them at bay.

"Of course we do (want to see the clash with Brighterdaysahead) as it will be fun. It is going to be fair as you are certainly going to get a pace as the gallop will be on one would imagine. It will be fascinating. We won’t have to worry about getting runaway half way up the hill like he was the other day. It will be very interesting as she is a good mare, so is Lossiemouth, and State Man is good. It is a good, solid Champion Hurdle.

"The one good thing is he can travel off any pace. That pace Lossiemouth found difficult at Kempton Park was no worry to him. He can travel at a very high speed. He has got bags of speed. They will go hard, but I think his weapon is he can hold that."

East India Express (Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle)

"He should go for this, but it is hard to work out the Coral Cup and Martin Pipe. We have nine for the Coral Cup, but it is the same nine for the Martin Pipe. East India Express is probably the one that will stay in the Martin Pipe as Freddie (Gordon) has won on him twice and therefore it an obvious keep them together job.

"I would take the credit for running him in quick succession, but the true story is that on the way to Ascot, Jerry McGrath rang me up and said why don’t you put East India Express at Kempton Park on Boxing Day as when it wins at Ascot he won’t get a penalty the next time. I said he won’t win at Ascot, but 'you never know,' said Jerry. That is all credit to Jerry McGarth. I would like to think he holds a solid chance as he is very well."

Impose Toi / No Ordinary Joe (Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle/Coral Cup)

"I say we would possibly be favouring the Coral Cup with Impose Toi, but he will have an entry in the Martin Pipe as well. He has only been seen out once, but he won well. The Lanzarote was what I was chasing, but that was off. That was his race and so is the Coral Cup. No Ordinary Joe takes a lot of getting ready, but we are getting somewhere near. JP (McManus) is likely to have lots of horses for both races, but we might as well do as well."

Jango Baie (My Pension Expert Arkle Novices’ Chase)

"We are very lucky to have him as a super-sub and this race would be our line of thinking at the moment. He is probably a two and a half mile horse and the obvious thing would be to, but he is more likely to come down in trip rather than go up in trip looking at it now. I’m sure he would stay three miles, but they have taken the two and a half mile Grade One away just the year I want it in there, but on the other hand would Ballyburn stay at two and a half miles if that was there. I suspect he wants the three. That could definitely be an advantage the fact that he stays further than two miles. They will go a good gallop so you will need to stay.

"I thought it was a really good performance from him at Sandown in the Scilly Isles. A short-head is a short-head, but that was in horrible ground. I thought he did great as he jumped beautifully and he is accurate like that. He has got the pace and better ground will suit him. We were thinking two and a half miles then going up to three miles, but then Sir Gino has left the door open from our point of view so I think this is the way we would be thinking."

Jeriko Du Reponet / Doddiethegreat / Shanagh Bob (Pertemps Network Final)

"I hoped Jeriko Du Reponet would go novice chasing this season, but that fell apart on day one at Sandown Park. That was nothing to do with the fences, or him jumping. He lost that race before started as he was no fit state to race and I shouldn’t have run him. He had blip and we couldn’t saddle him. We had to bring him right back, but we had to. I think he just needs to grow up a little bit more. They were all over the top of him at Exeter and I hoped he would have been on the bridle a little bit more than he was, but he has booked his ticket to the Pertemps.

"Of the other ones in it I like the way Doddiethegreat finished his race on Saturday. Shanagh Bob was very good at Huntingdon, but he then had to have another run after that. Shanagh Bob wasn’t as good over fences as I thought he would be, but the Pertemps will do."

Jingko Blue (Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase)

"It didn’t work out at the weekend in the Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase at the weekend and that rather put a spanner in the works. We have put him in the Pendil Novices’ Chase at the weekend as you wouldn’t want to go to the Brown Advisory on the back of what happened there. That is only over two and a half miles and I wanted to go over three miles to see where his stamina really was. He would be able to run in the two and a half mile novices’ handicap at the meeting if he ran at Kempton Park on Saturday."

Jonbon (BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase)

"I think he did get the recognition he deserved at Ascot. It did seem like the world had got behind him and they were very good to him that day. He has won nine Grade One races now. He is an entertaining character as well and he and Constitution Hill are so different. One is the most laid back you would ever come across and the other is a complete fuss pot and can’t standstill for two minutes. He has always been a bit the same. He did nothing wrong last season apart from make a mistake in the Clarence House when it was run at Cheltenham. It was the only thing he did wrong, apart from the fact that he couldn’t turn up at Cheltenham.

"That was a pity and I suppose that is why he was forgotten a little bit because he wasn’t there last year, and, in all fairness the Champion Chase last year wasn’t actually an epic. It went a bit flat as he wasn’t there and El Fabiolo was determined to put holes in fences. It was a bit of a flop race really and if he had been there it might not have been the hardest race he would ever have had, but he wasn’t there.

"You have got to win the Champion Chase to be a champion and he deserves to. He has won two Shloer Chases, and you can’t blame the Clarence House Chase defeat as him not acting around Cheltenham as he made one shocking mistake, which he was lucky to stand up from. You can’t count that against him. He goes around anywhere. He loves Sandown, and we know that, but he enjoyed Ascot the other day and I thought that was a really good performance."

Lulamba / Palladium (JCB Triumph Hurdle)

"They are both in the Adonis at Kempton Park on Saturday. Lulamba is terribly well and he would have to have a racecourse gallop. I’m thinking the other fella is good at what he does. Lulamba has only had two runs in his life. They are both going to work tomorrow then we will decide. There were two things about Palladium’s Huntingdon race. One is the form has turned out to be red-hot and secondly the time was fantastic. The race was six seconds faster than the other division and second and the fourth have won since.

"Lulamba did look good at Ascot and he looks very good. He is lovely. He is very laid back. He has got a lovely attitude to it, but he has only had two runs in his life and it just occurred he might need another. The other horse, the way he has been working, and schooling, does he really need to go to Kempton Park. He has done a mountain of racing and I think he might be better where he is, but we will see.

"Lulamba could jump anyway (before coming to us) as he had already run over hurdles, and he is very good. Palladium has always been good as well. With colts it is not always the easiest thing to do and they either do it or don’t. He has got a fantastic temperament and that makes it very easy. He went away to do a bit of loose schooling to start with, which we nearly always do with the horses that are coming off the flat, and he enjoyed that. He has been terrific all the way through, but he has got a great temperament.

"We definitely would not have had one as good as him off the flat as he is a very high class horse. He is a beautifully looking horse as well. You could take him anywhere and he would win a prize! They are two very high class horses and if you had one you would be happy.

"It was a little bit (of a surprise how well Lulamba won at Ascot) as he is a very laid back at home. He does not behave like a baby, but he is still very raw. He is a big scopey horse. You can easily see him jumping a fence next season, but that is a long way away.

"East India Dock is the one horse that looks a danger. I’m not sure how strong that Irish division is, but you have thought down the years and they come up with one on the day. Willie has probably got one tucked in his pocket!"

Lucky Place (Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle)

"He would be right high on my list. It is a problem that has worked in our favour possibly. He was meant to go novice chasing. He was all schooled up and ready to go and he had jumped beautifully, but at the time we had a whole string of them and it was just trying to find races for them all. Three of them have finished going back over hurdles as there wasn’t an opportunity for them to go over fences. There was nowhere to go at the time so we popped him, at the last minute, in the Ascot Hurdle.

"He didn’t surprise me that day, but he is just a very likeable, straightforward, uncomplicated nice horse. He has a great temperament and attitude. We are taking the stamina at risk, or on trial, but the form of when he won the Relkeel Hurdle has worked out as Nigel’s (Twiston-Davies) horse Gowel Road has won the three-mile race there (Cleeve Hurdle).

"We were giving him six pounds that day so that is pretty solid form. We decided that why do we need to run him over three miles beforehand. If you go to Cheltenham on Trials Day over three miles you are definitely going to get a hard race. Why not just trust that he stays. He is in really good order and is working very well and he is just in good shape. It is open, but Teahupoo is the obvious one, although Home By The Lee keeps popping up."

Mister Coffey (Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase)

"He is in very good form indeed. He is rated 144. You show me a nice little race he can win and I will run him in it, but they don’t exist. He was doing great and he ran that fantastic race in the Grand National, but he galloped until he dropped that day. If you get down too low in the well it takes them a lot of time to get over it. We were going to retire him, but I said to Lady Bamford I have two more games up our sleeve. We can either go hunter chasing or we can go cross-country racing and I said one of them might ignite the flame. He has run two really good races over the fences and he is full of it. I think he would get a cheer if he won."

Wiseguy / Fantastic Lady (Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase)

"We have two potentially for the Kim Muir. I was pleased with Wiseguy on Saturday. Fantastic Lady won’t get into the Grand National as the handicapper has decided to drop her two pounds. The Kim Muir is a 0-145 and now she is 144 she can come into the Kim Muir."

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