A deluge would be required between now and March to shift Un De Sceaux from the Ryanair to this race, given both his need for a test at two miles these days and the presence of stablemates Yorkhill, Min and Douvan – perhaps in that order of probability – in this field.
Clarence House runner-up Speredek is not entered at Cheltenham and believed (with some form justification) to be better going right-handed – albeit trainer Nigel Hawke is disinclined to wait until April for targets at Sandown or Punchestown only to find his favoured soft ground is gone. He therefore may give the horse an exploratory spin at left-handed Warwick next month.
That leaves only first-in-trouble San Benedeto as a possible participant in this event from last Saturday’s Ascot crew. He ran abysmally, even if the ground was mostly at fault.
Meanwhile, Henderson was in precise mood when questioned by the press at that meeting about Altior’s progress. He’d previously stated in his Unibet blog that the Champion Chase ante-post favourite would be “stepping up” that weekend to the extent it would to some degree test whether the horse’s breathing operation had been successful.
"It definitely wasn't work in my language – he’s not ready to gallop yet – but what he did today was different to what he’s been doing and he didn’t make any noises," Henderson explained. "Today was quite an important part of his build-up and I’d say that by the end of next week he will be galloping, as far as I’m concerned.
"What we call work is when we put three horses together and they gallop. He did not do that, nor did he do that the day I first heard his noise. He had a full exercise, which is what he’s been doing for the last month, but this was a step up and he got a big tick.
"What he did today he did very easily, which pleased us. It wasn’t far short of what he did the morning he made a noise and I can say 100% categorically he did not make a noise. Everything was good."
Got that? I said: got that? Good. That the chances of Altior running in the Game Spirit are "now 50/50" won't surprise keen observers of the Seven Barrows modus operandi. Yet is there a shade less confidence in the phrase "If he doesn’t run in the Game Spirit itself, I’d like to think that he still will appear at Newbury that weekend for a racecourse gallop"? Well, if Mullins is going to get the full Freud, it’s only fair Henderson does too!
"He could step on a stone, like any other horse, but if we get a clean run we’ll get to Cheltenham," Henderson concluded. For the record, nobody attempted to tell him what they’re calling the Game Spirit now.
