Nicky Henderson today spoke about his best chances for major honours at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival.The Seven Barrows trainer has a host of top chances as the Cheltenham Festival draws ever closer, but which are his best. Nicky Henderson takes you through the horses he thinks will win him yet more visits to the Cheltenham winners enclosure.

Nicky Henderson Cheltenham Festival Hopes Revealed

RSA Chase:

Nicky Henderson already believes Punchestowns and Long Run are the best two chasers he has ever trained. The pair are set for a fascinating clash in the RSA Chase for the man who has more Cheltenham Festival winners to his name than any other current trainer with a license.

“They are the two horses we are lucky enough to have who could go all the way,” he said. They have got two years to go but they are as good as we’ve had for a very long time. They’re as good chasers as I’ve ever had. My duty is to keep them in one piece for two years. We all need stars to come through and we all want them in our yard.”

Punchestowns and Long Run are both unbeaten in two runs over British fences but have rather different backgrounds. Long Run was a Grade One-winning hurdler at three and made an incredible debut in this country in the Feltham Novices’ Chase at Kempton before following up over two miles at Warwick. Punchestowns did start off in Flat races in France but made a quicker transfer and was second to Big Buck’s in last year’s Ladbrokes World Hurdle. His outings over fences have been in smaller events at Newbury and Sandown.

“Punchestowns stays three miles but is very good at two and a half – he’s not a slow horse,” said Henderson. I’d actually love to take Big Buck’s on again one day and come from behind him. But that would only happen if his chasing career falls apart. He will probably go to Newbury on Sunday for a wander. Long Run won’t – he will have a schooling session with Yogi Breisner on Tuesday and we have to be careful he’s not too fresh. Long Run is just very talented. There are not many who can go a genuine two-mile pace and can also stay three-miles at Kempton. It’s quite freakish really. We ran him over two at Warwick really for his future – if every race is to be over three miles, then his will be a shorter life.”

With Barry Geraghty set to ride Punchestowns, there is a ride to spare on the third string Burton Port, and the trainer was keen not to rule out the Reynoldstown winner.

“His owner Trevor Hemmings wants to run.” he said. He has nowhere else to go and he deserves to be there – in another year he would be our main runner. We’re not sure about jockeys – Andrew Tinkler gets on very well with him and AP McCoy can ride whoever.”

Punchestowns (right) RSA Chase Favourite

Triumph Hurdle:

A winning British debut at Kempton on Saturday by Soldatino has left the French recruit as Nicky Henderson‘s chief hope of retaining the JCB Triumph Hurdle. Zaynar’s victory 12 months ago was the fourth time Nicky Henderson had lifted the four-year-old highlight but several failures had left him searching for a suitable candidate for 2010. Step forward Soldatino, who took the Grade Two Adonis at Kempton last weekend by seven lengths.

“It was starting to look like there wouldn’t be one,” admitted Henderson. We did one piece of work with Soldatino and he hung all over the place. We were told he had to wear a hood, earplugs and a special bit when he came over so we were experimenting at Kempton. I hadn’t even galloped him. He did wear earplugs in the race – he’ll wear them again – but he was very sensible and relaxed and had his blows. He will come on an awful lot for it and I think you have got to be tempted to go to Cheltenham. It’s a big ask but it looks a pretty weak year. I thought that before Christmas when I said I would be amazed if we had seen the Triumph Hurdle winner by then.”

Nicky Henderson has written off the chances of According making the Triumph Hurdle has not yet unleashed Super Kenny. He said:

“Super Kenny is going to go to Newbury on Saturday but I am sure he wants good ground.”

Mille Chief has made a slight improvement from the setback that prevented him from running at Kempton this weekend but Alan King still believes he faces a race against time for the Triumph Hurdle.

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The entire Nicky Henderson Team;

Punjabi: I was thrilled to bits with him at Kempton on Saturday. It was exactly what we wanted, he was professional and he was quick. Barry (Geraghty) said ‘I pressed the button and the turbo-charge kicked in’. I thought it was very good.

I know the opposition wasn’t very good – and I hate belittling other people’s horses but he did what he had to do. To go to Cheltenham with a win under our belts is all we wanted and I have to thank everyone for putting the race on.

I go into this year’s race with much more confidence with Punjabi than I did last season. Then we were going in behind a defeat in the Kingwell, albeit we knew he’d blown up there. He’d been forgotten about and is still a horse who doesn’t appeal to everyone although he is the reigning champion. He’s sitting on the throne, wearing the crown and he wants to keep it. It’s up to the others to try and take it.

Zaynar: We wanted to a get a run into him before Cheltenham so took him to Kelso. The meeting was very nearly off, it was very frosty and when that comes out of the ground it makes the going tacky and horrible. It’s not that he’s a little horse but he has rather little feet and is a Daylami and he just sank in that ground. There was this great, big tank of a horse ploughing a furrow through the ground up front and poor Zaynar was sinking in it.

I would have thought the cheekpieces will go back on for the Champion although that had nothing to do with what went wrong at Kelso. If Barry chooses Punjabi, Tony McCoy will ride Zaynar. He’s probably already ridden him at home and he might jump five hurdles on him before the Champion but doesn’t need to.

Petit Robin: He’s in the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Ryanair and I’ve been mulling things over this weekend. It could just be the Ryanair will be the easier race although I’ve Barbers Shop for that and nothing else for the Champion Chase. We’ve got to get Petit Robin into the race he has the best chance of winning though and it just occurs that could be the Ryanair. I didn’t get to speak to owner John Poynton on Sunday and will discuss it with him. It’s a possibility he’ll go over the longer trip, we’ll see.

Barbers Shop: I’m really pleased with him and the Ryanair Chase has been the plan since the King George. I’m not at all worried about not running him between Boxing Day and Cheltenham, we’ll just do our work at home. He looks great and I think he’s feeling great and when he’s like that he’s very good. He’s a horse who really tells you where he’s at and and at the moment he’s right where I want him.

Sentry Duty: There is obviously a question mark over whether he’ll stay in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle but won the Cleeve Hurdle very well over two miles five at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day. I would never have had any desire to find out if he stays before the Festival as he’s a horse who has to be incredibly fresh. When he is, he’s very good and needs to have big gaps between his races. If there was a Grade One two mile five hurdle at Cheltenham he’d go there but there isn’t so we’re going to give it a try.

Big Buck’s beat Punchestowns last year but nothing is unbeatable and there are no certainties at Cheltenham, that’s for sure.

Punchestowns: I would possibly have liked three runs before the RSA Chase but the weather this winter has been awful and that wasn’t possible. He’s been very good two times, I was going to to Cheltenham on New Year’s Day but just didn’t dare on the ground, and consequently he had to go to Sandown where he made one mistake. That’s his only one in two rounds of fences and nobody is going to get round in the RSA Chase without making a mistake. I’d prefer it to be done but fear it won’t be!

I thought Barry was seriously good on him after the mistake at Sandown, AP just set sail as soon as it happened and quite rightly went and galloped off down the back straight without us. But Barry let the horse find his feet, get his composure and balance back and what he did then was very impressive,

Long Run: The RSA is his target unless the ground came up very, very soft then he may switch to the Arkle. He did prove at Warwick he can cope with two miles and is a horse with incredible talent, he’s frightening and he’s versatile. He’s got the speed and stays and is a bit special.

It’s very exciting to have horses like him and Punchestown in the yard. They are the future and I’ll keep going as long as they’ll let me but if you have horses like this coming through the system it does help. There’s a lot to look forward to in the years to come.

Burton Port: Our third runner in the RSA Chase and one who has done nothing wrong all season, he’s four from four over fences. He’s entitled to be there and is going to run. He’s a good solid benchmark and a very good horse.

Riverside Theatre: Really wants good ground in the Arkle and he too has done nothing wrong. He’s in very good form right now and has to be fresh. I think his owner (James Nesbitt) will be as nervous as anyone on the day, he absolutely loves it. It shows just what Cheltenham means when it touches his nerves if you consider some of the things he’s done during his career!

Mad Max: Our second Arkle runner and a great, big bull of a horse. He’s very talented and I actually think he’ll run really well at Cheltenham. We learned a lot from his last run at Doncaster, he’s better than that and the track will suit him much more in the Arkle.

Plans are more fluid elsewhere. In the Spinal Research Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Oscar Whiskey is a definite runner. He’s always been very pacy, very talented. He hasn’t had to get into a big scrap yet but with Dunguib in there at Cheltenham I suspect he’ll know he’s been in a fight this time. He’s got a lot of talent.

Bellvano is also in the County while Quantatitiveasing also has a handicap option. We’ll take a good look at the options for both and we have to try and juggle everything around to be the best for JP McManus.

Bellvano has a lot of speed and what he wants is a fast-run two miles. You might say the track on the Tuesday will be better for him than the County Hurdle as it is just a little faster. We’ll wait and see.

General Miller will run in the Supreme. He got beaten over two-and-a-half which led us to coming back to two at Cheltenham and he’s in very good form, he worked very well on Saturday. The only thing he needs to do is get his jumping absolutely nailed on at speed and may lack a little experience but he’s talented.

Quantatativeasing and Finian’s Rainbow are in the Neptune Investments Novices’ Hurdle. I’ve explained the options for the former but Finian’s Rainbow is a runner. This has always been the plan and I was disappointed when he was beaten in the Challow as he came to win it. I may just have been looking after him a little then as he’s a big horse, a chaser all over. I only want him for that game but he’s doing well at hurldling and has a very good chance at Cheltenham. He jumps well, has speed and can travel through his races.

It nearly looked as though we wouldn’t have a runner in the JCB Triumph Hurdle. Super Kenny is in there and is a horse I like. He could run at Newbury on Friday but wants good ground so will want this sunshine to last.

However at Kempton on Saturday Soldatino won the Adonis and booked his Cheltenham place. He’ll wear ear plugs in the Triumph, as he did at Kempton, and I like him. It looks a pretty weak year among the four-year-olds and we got some practice in on Saturday. He blew up halfway down the back straight, had a blow at the second last too. He was very sensible in the race, didn’t pull, was relaxed and jumped and when he got his second wind he picked up and took off. He can only come on an awful lot for the run and he came out of it really well. I think he’ll go.

We have yet to finalise our teams for the handicaps. Obviously the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual is a race we target.

French Opera is almost certain to have top weight having won three handicap cahses in the autumn. He wants good ground and has won twice round Cheltenham but I’ve gone and clobbered him with an amazing amount of weight.

In fairness he would almost come out top-rated in the Arkle if I ran him in that, and I suppose I could still do that, but I don’t expect we will.

Of the others Pepsyrock, Dave’s Dream and You’re The Top are all possible runners. All want good ground so no rain and no watering please!

It’s hard to work out what’s going to get into the other handicaps although we do know historically where the cut offs have been.

In the Martin Pipe we are intending to run Peveril. The whole point of last week was to get into this race and I do know he’s gone up three pounds to 138 which means he still qualifies – just! Lord Generous, Radium and Gold Award will also run if they get in, with the latter the most vulnerable.

The Coral Cup is a possible target for Spirit River and Quantativeasing. Tasheba and Fairyland will also get in and all four are probable runners.

Spirit River is fine after the totesport Trophy, he just made a horrible mistake three out and that was game over. He was going great at the time and the extra trip will help him at Cheltenham. It’s a nice race for him.

Dave’s Dream will go for the Jewson or the Grand Annual, while Aigle D’Or, Working Title and Thanks For That are other probable Jewson runners.

The Pertemps is the target for Ainama and Andytown.