HEND THE HOODOO
After 44 years and 40 failed attempts... Nicky’s banking on Mister Coffey to finally break his duck
HAVING watched Zongalero, his first-ever Grand National runner, finish second to Rubstic in 1979, Nicky Henderson must have thought the great race would come his way sooner or later.
But, after 44 years and 40 failed endeavours, the master of Lambourn’s Seven Barrows stables is still waiting.
“We’ve had a couple of seconds – Zongalero and The Tsarevitch [in 1987] – thirds and fourths,” recalls the 72-year-old, who will saddle Mister Coffey in his quest to add his name to the National roll of honour. “I can remember three or four at Becher’s second time round that were travelling like heroes – going like good ’uns – and I’ve had six consecutive fallers at the first fence at one stage. “That’s quite a record!” The eight-year-old Mister Coffey, a 50-1 chance, has yet to win a race over fences after eight attempts.
But Rule The World registered his maiden chase victory in the race seven years ago, and Nico de Boinville’s mount has podium finishes in the Cheltenham Festival’s Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup and National Hunt Chase on his CV. “He’s a
He’s the best chance I’ve gone there with for a long time
real character – a horse you can’t help but like a lot – and he’s been placed in everything you can throw at him,” the trainer added.
“He keeps finishing second, but they’ve been in the likes of Kim Muirs and he finished third in the National Hunt Chase.
“Someone said to me the other day, ‘Horses from the National Hunt Chase have a great record in the National.’
“I said, ‘It’s my record in the race you want to worry about!’
“We laugh about it now, but I think he’s the best chance I’ve gone there with for a long time. He schooled over the ‘Aintree’ fences in Lambourn and I was very happy with him, he likes going left-handed and he likes a good bit of cut in the ground, so ‘good to soft’ would be lovely.”
Mister Coffey’s only unplaced effort over fences came when tackling the famous National obstacles in the Topham Chase last April, but Henderson (right) holds the two-mile, five-furlong distance to account.
“He wants a trip and the National trip will help him enormously,” he said. “He stayed well at Cheltenham the other day – he plugged away and he’ll be galloping away all day.”
Henderson has captured
every big prize National Hunt racing has to offer, including 73 triumphs at the Cheltenham Festival, among them a record nine Champion Hurdles, six Queen Mother Champion Chases and two Cheltenham Gold Cups.
“We’ve been fortunate to have had some of the best horses, and therefore you’re a player at Cheltenham at the highest level,” said Henderson,
“But this race is unique. I love the place – it’s completely different to Cheltenham – and it’s the one obvious race I’d love to win, but the clock is ticking.”