KING NICKY THE SIXTH
Legend Henderson is champ of champions
NICKY HENDERSON had a record-breaking day at Cheltenham yesterday.
Landing a record sixth victory in the Champion Hurdle for the Seven Barrows trainer, Buveur D’Air beat My stablemate Tent Or Yours, who was finishing runner-up in the race for the third year in a row, by four and a half lengths.
Earlier in the afternoon Henderson broke his own record with a sixth win in the Arkle Trophy with young chasing star Altior.
The Irish had four winners with trainer Gordon Elliott scoring a 1,988-1 treble with Labaik (25-1), Apple’s Jade (7-2) and Tiger Roll (16-1).
THE drinks were on Buveur D’Air yesterday as he rewrote the Champion Hurdle record books for trainer Nicky Henderson and owner JP McManus.
They even landed the old one-two, with veteran My Tent Or Yours winging through to be the last challenger.
Buveur (it’s French for drinker) certainly lit up the face of his hugely experienced jockey Noel Fehily, who proved that life was better than ever at the age of 41.
He was always travelling well on the 5-1 chance and hit the front approaching the last.
Once over, he pulled four and a half lengths clear of his stable companion to stamp himself as a decent title-holder who could well come back for second helpings next year.
Bargain
This was not only Henderson’s record sixth victory in the Stan James-sponsored championship, but also a sixth for McManus, who celebrated his 50th Festival winner into the bargain.
But it was a slightly bittersweet result for both as My Tent Or Yours was filling the silver medal spot for the fourth time at the Festival.
He’s been second in a Supreme Novices’ Hurdle as well as three Champions.
Yet, despite being 10 years old, he provides the yardstick by which Buveur D’Air can be judged. He’s well up to standard.
“Horses don’t understand sympathy,” said Henderson, “but we’re hugely proud of My Tent Or Yours. He’s been a legend and deserves to have won the race. Trouble is we did it to him ourselves.”
Henderson saddled three in the race and, at one stage it was Brain Power who appeared to be going best. But he folded rapidly up the hill. Favourite Yanworth, carrying the McManus first colours for trainer Alan King, also disappointed in seventh.
The field were taken along at a decent lick by Petit Mouchoir, who stayed on well to be third once headed.
Buveur D’Air had been a decent third to Arkle winner Altior in last year’s Supreme and started the season winning two novice chases. But he wasn’t over-impressive and Henderson felt the Champion Hurdle was something to aim for even before Willie Mullins’ stable stars Faugheen and Annie Power were ruled out.
Fehily celebrated his second victory in the race with his family at the presentation and insisted: “Winning one Champion Hurdle with Rock On Ruby was great, but you appreciate it more the second time around.
“It was a great training performance. It was most unfortunate for Barry Geraghty to be injured but I was delighted to get the call.
“It’s worked out well. He jumped brilliantly all the way round apart from the third- last and that was probably my fault as I rushed him a bit.
“I couldn’t believe how well I was going at the top of the hill and I even took a pull.”
Buveur D’Air follows See You Then (three times), Punjabi and Binocular who supplied Henderson’s earlier triumphs.
That’s one more than the five of Peter Easterby who trained such greats as Night Nurse and Sea Pigeon nearly 40 years ago.
McManus, who has been known to punt in telephone numbers at the meeting, first landed the race with triple champ Istabraq and has since added Jezki and Binocular to his tally. at CHELTENHAM