BACK ON TRACK
Henderson claims his yard’s ‘ blip’ is over
NICKY Henderson expects to receive confirmation this morning that the “mild blip” that afflicted his runners over Christmas has ended.
The Seven Barrows trainer announced that he would be “taking it slowly” in the wake of some mixed results during the Festive season.
Shishkin continued his impressive march towards Cheltenham’s Arkle Chase with an impressive victory at Kempton, but both Champion Hurdle heroine Epatante and four- time Festival winner Altior met with defeat at the Sunbury track.
“We had a few with dirty noses and coughs but you’re going to have four or five with a snotty nose or a dirty ‘ trach’ wash at any one time,” Henderson said yesterday.
“But when the numbers got up to 12 – which it probably was at the maximum – that’s more than normal. There was definitely something that they bumped into.
“They will get a tracheal wash at home tomorrow. Then I’m hoping it has been and gone through them and they are back in action within a fortnight – that it’s just a mild blip.”
Henderson expects to be back in full swing at Kempton on Saturday, where the Relkeel Hurdle, salvaged from the abandoned Cheltenham card on New Year’s Day, has been added to the undercard. “I have every intention of running Call Me Lord and On The Blind Side, who were original runners, in the Relkeel,” he added.
“I was thinking about Mister Fisher and Top Notch for the Silviniaco Conti Chase.
“We’ve vaccinated at the beginning of January, the weather is foul and the ground is awful.
“It’s a good chance just to give the horses a couple of weeks’ break, but I’ve got a million horses to enter that I want to run.”