Chantry House overlooked among my Festival team, says Henderson

Nicky Henderson believes Chantry House is the horse among his Cheltenham team who has been overlooked in the build-up to next week’s Festival.

Shishkin, Constitution Hill, Jonbon and Champ have been the principal inmates at Seven Barrows who have been subject of much debate and column inches whereas Chantry House, a general 20-1 for the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday, has been comparatively neglected.

Nick Luck asked Henderson at Sandown on Saturday whether there were any horses who we might not be paying much attention to and the trainer did not hesitate to nominate his Gold Cup contender, one of 13 left in the showpiece.

“I love Chantry House. He wasn't earth shatteringly impressive in the Cotswold Chase but I do think he's in very good form and that he has a very realistic shot at it,” Henderson said. “I think it's a very open Gold Cup and everybody is going to run.

“He's in great order and if the ground dries out, I think that will be an advantage to him. He’s a very good mover and that’s what I’m really pleased about him at the moment – the way he’s moving.”

Henderson enjoyed a double on Saturday, having not had a winner since February 20. He’d had 25 runners during that time and admitted: “It makes you feel a lot better. We’ve been very pleased with the way things have gone in the last fortnight [the horses working] and that's why we really haven't had much to play with for a couple of weeks because they are all waiting for next week we've got a lot to look forward to.

"It's a diversified squad with quite a lot of talent in it. Now we just need some luck and everything that goes with it.”

Henderson's lean patch was ended in great style as Luccia followed up her debut win at Warwick in emphatic fashion at Sandown, taking the British Stallion Studs EBF Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race in the hands of Nico de Boinville.

A daughter of The Gurkha, she is closely related to the useful hurdler Hooper and had advertised her ability on her first run.

De Boinville eased her to the front and powered clear up the straight to score by 17 lengths from Eabha Grace and Fairy Gem, with the well-regarded 11-8 favourite Mullenbeg well held and struggling long before two furlongs out.

Luccia (7-2) may now head to Aintree, although Henderson is already eyeing the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham next season. He said: “She was good. Impressive. She is a good filly. We have had the mare, we’ve had Hooper, her brother, it is a lovely family.

“She looked good there, didn’t she? I said to her owner, ‘There’s a nice novice hurdle for her in a week’s time’, and before I could get out ‘in a year’s time’, he thought I was going to run her next week (at Cheltenham).

“I thought we would win this, until Milton (Harris) suddenly came with the horse who looked as if she would go to the Champion Bumper (Mullenbeg) and all that rain overnight, and put what would have been nice ground here today, back to where it has been all winter – horrible. And it didn’t seem to bother her at all.

“I thought it would run to speed – which she has got – so she could go to Aintree for that mares’ bumper. It is either Aintree or bed – one of the two. The obvious objective is a week’s time next year, the mares’ novice hurdle at Cheltenham.

Luccia was in receipt of an allowance, which saw her carry a stone less than a trio of top weights. Henderson felt that made a big difference and said: “The four-year-old allowance is big. It was staring at you off the page, but you can’t be a certainty in a race like this.”