We get the lowdown on Nicky Henderson's Cheltenham Festival team which includes leading Gold Cup contender Jango Baie plus a host of other big names, including potential Champion Hurdle candidate Constitution Hill.
Nicky Henderson has often been the man to lead the English charge into battle at the Cheltenham Festival and given the team he intends to send to this year’s meeting he appears in a good place to do so once again.
While there is the will, he doesn’t yet have the answer to the conundrum of deciding whether to give Constitution Hill the green light to contest the Unibet Champion Hurdle but the Lambourn handler has a plethora of other stars waiting in the wings to light up this year’s meeting.
Having been dealt bitter blows in the days leading up to the Festival in the past the master of Seven Barrows is well-aware that things can go wrong at the last moment, but as it stands his team appear to be in the right place.
And Henderson hopes he can get a meeting he has been so prolific at off to the perfect start on day one with Old Park Star in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Lulamba in the Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase, to set up another magical Festival.
He said: “I think the English squad is definitely stronger than in previous years so I hope between us we can raise a bit of a fight, and I think we can.
“It is going to be very open and I hope we can stand up and do a bit better this year. There are good English horses up and down the country that can stop the export.
“I think we have got a good strong squad across the board, which is always a nice feeling, but the next couple of weeks everyone will be a bit jittery.
“There will be plenty that can’t run, and I hope it isn’t one of ours. The first race on the first day is crucial and we have got to fire big guns early with Old Park Star and Lulamba, but if you can win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle it changes your life.”
