Nicky Henderson's top ten Cheltenham Festival 2022 contenders

Age: 8. Race:Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup

Cheltenham form: 13311.

Overview: Has developed into a high-class chaser having landed back-to-back Grade One victories at Cheltenham and Aintree last season. Disappointed in the King George on Boxing Day but bounced back in workmanlike fashion in the Cotswold Chase when wearing first-time cheekpieces and he has a good record at Cheltenham.

Trainer comments: He wasn’t earth shattering last time out but we have reason to think we have got a little bit up our sleeves.

If you go back, he hadn’t really had a race since Aintree (last season). He had a solo spin in a two horse race around Sandown. He had a two mile gallop in the King George but the King George didn’t work at all. We put the cheekpieces on him at Cheltenham. We talked about putting them on in the King George but AP (McCoy) who is a great help and comes down a lot and watches the horses school and talks to the boys, and Nico just wondered whether he needed them.

They thought that while we were going three miles they are going to jump off and go and the first half mile would test his experience and ability to cope with a lot more runners around him. It was not like novice chases where they are all looking after each other.

Both Nico and AP mulled over cheekpieces to help him in the early stages in the King George and they were probably right but it was the only bit of work he did before the King George that I thought he was flying. He then went to school and I said I can’t believe this horse needs cheekpieces but I called it wrong.

We did put them on in the Cotswold Chase. I don’t say they made a great deal of difference but they helped him focus on it. He was good and got stuck in. I know the runner-up (Santini) pretty well and he was second in a Gold Cup. It is very solid form.

The Gold Cup has opened up a lot and good horses have won good trials. Nothing has absolutely jumped off the front page and stamped his authority on the race so it is up for grabs. It is an intriguing race and you could make a case for a lot of horses.

He is a high class horse and he is a good stayer too.

Age: 10. Race:Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle

Cheltenham form: 2F1P2.

Overview: Has endured a few setbacks during his career, but there is no doubting this Grade One winning hurdler and chaser has a huge amount of ability and he returned this season with a game victory in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot. Was a shade below-par when second in the Cleeve Hurdle since, although the ground may have been to blame on that occasion and keeping him over hurdles this season has looked a good move.

Trainer comments: He was maybe a little underwhelming on Trials Day. I didn’t think he jumped quite as well as he did at Ascot. He did little wrong. Full credit to Emma (Lavelle) and her team to get that horse (Paisley Park) back especially when he gave us a 20 length head start.

If I can get him back where he was at Ascot, and I think he can, he has got to be thereabouts. He wasn’t as sharp as he was at Ascot. Ascot was his first run in quite a long time as he didn’t really have a race in the Gold Cup so actually his last real race was the Game Spirit at Newbury last season. He might have bounced a little bit but he was a better horse at Ascot than he was on Trials Day.

He is good at home as he doesn’t do a lot. He doesn’t like the all-weather. He has to go up and down it but he is not flashy up there. Nico used to ride him a lot at home and when you needed him to do a little bit you asked for it and you got it. If you leave him alone he will do his own thing.

In the Gold Cup last year he walked through the first, broke the second and pulled up before he fell over the third. It was a disaster and there was no doubt something was ailing him.

The general feeling was the less pressure to put on him jumping-wise is to keep the jumping down to a minimum. If you are going to do that you might as well jump hurdles and not fences.

It was really was (quite a straightforward decision to go for the Stayers’ Hurdle). Though he was in the Gold Cup it seemed the obvious thing to do really and that is the way he is going to go for now.

Age: 5. Race:Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Cheltenham form: --

Overview: Has a lofty reputation and made a huge impression on his debut under rules before bolting up in the Unibet Tolworth Hurdle last time out where he impressed with the way he powered clear in testing conditions. Looked professional on both occasions for a horse with little experience and he is a potential superstar, so it is no surprise to see him at the top of the SkyBet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle betting.

Trainer comments: They (Constitution Hill and Jonbon) are both chalk and cheese. Constitution Hill would stand there all day and he would lie down for you. That is the way he behaves through life. He is completely the opposite to Jonbon, who is quite a hyper horse. He is in good form and they (Constitution Hill and Jonbon) worked on Saturday. They would both get two and a half miles. They don’t need to work together and it would ruin the whole party wouldn’t it if we knew the answer. I don’t want trials here and that is not the point of working horses together.

I don’t want them ripping up trees and having dust ups here as they would do too much. They are very good. It is probably a help Jonbon is in the first race and we will have ways and means of keeping the adrenalin and atmosphere out of him as he will be the one that is on his toes. We will protect him. That is the way he is whereas with Constitution Hill nothing would worry him as he is very straightforward. They are both good rides in a race. Jonbon can be a bit keen but there is no danger of Constitution Hill being keen. Cheltenham will suit them both, it should do.

Jonbon had a race last time at Haydock and I was pleased with him. He quickened up in horrible ground.

By running Constitution Hill again I was never going to find a competitive race. There wasn’t anywhere else to go where you were going to get more than four or five runners (like in the Tolworth).

They will work again this Saturday and the following Saturday. Constitution Hill will probably want to do a bit more than Jonbon but Jonbon has had that extra run at Haydock. You would have to be careful not to wind Jonbon up. It is like anybody winding up a watch with him as you can over wind.

I think they are both very strong. Like Altior and Shishkin you would like to think they are in their sort of league.

There is going to be plenty of opposition you know that. It is always the best race to win on the whole card to be honest with you. We want to see England 1 Ireland 0. It is nice to have two, as two is better than one.

They have done everything right and I hope all goes well. There is no doubt Willie’s are good but our job is to mind our own horses. I will let them jump four hurdles before the race as it is good to let them keep their eye in and they will probably do that the week before. I wouldn’t think either would go to Kempton.

I think it wouldn’t harm Jonbon to have an away day. It wouldn’t do him no harm to go there and back again and have a day out. It is rather like the day we took him to Newbury before the Ladbrokes Trophy weekend. That did him a lot of good. It would do him a lot of good to go to the races walk around the paddock then come home again. The trick worked if you like.

Age:7. Race: Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.

Cheltenham form: --

Overview: Simonsig’s half-brother who beat Betfair Hurdle winner Soaring Glory on debut in 2020 before he suffered a setback. Was beaten less than three lengths in a Grade One Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on his next start before embarking on a chasing campaign this year. He’s now two from two over fences, although hasn’t looked straightforward on both occasions. However, he remains lightly-raced and has a huge amount of potential.

Trainer comments: There is no doubt it will help him going the other way round. I think a lot of people were surprised I went right-handed again (at Exeter) after his first effort.

His first effort was rather bad luck as it was one of those days at Leicester where there were not really any fences down the back straight. So they galloped down the back straight and came up over the little hill around the bend, down the hill and then suddenly there was a fence. It was the last thing the poor horse was expecting. It was a good lesson.

Nico was very pleased with him at Exeter. It wasn’t that he needed a horse on the outside, he just needed company.

He has been schooling a lot. Ronnie (Bartlett, owner) was down last week. He has got to learn to go straight with his jumping. He was as straight as a gun barrel, once with a horse on his left, once with a horse on his right and once on his own. Never did he move off a straight line.

I had him in here, there and everywhere this week but everybody told me not to. He is a good horse. Bravemansgame is going to be one of Britain’s bankers. Britain needs bankers and most of them are in the city! You have got to take him on and I think that is his race.

Age: 8. Race:Unibet Champion Hurdle

Cheltenham form: 913.

Overview: Five-time Grade One winner who landed the 2020 Champion Hurdle but could only manage third behind Honeysuckle last year. Has not looked quite as good as she was on her past four starts, despite her last two outings being Grade One victories, although the form of her Christmas Hurdle win has been boosted.

Trainer comments: Epatante might well go to Kempton (to exercise in the build-up to The Festival) and she is in very good form. We are very happy. Everything says she is really good.

We set off at the beginning of the season and JP said we have two objectives this year - the Fighting Fifth and the Christmas Hurdle. That is what we wanted and we nearly got it. We got one and a half which was great.

I thought at Kempton she was great and she really did look like her old self. She was hurdling like she always used to and tanked Nico into the race. She doesn’t normally go on that early but she was all for getting home and getting back to bed and she was off.

We’ve still got one big problem in front of us (Honeysuckle). I walked out of the stand with JP and the first thing I said was I want to see what Nico said, as he hadn’t ridden her before, just to see if she would get two and a half and therefore you could switch her into the Mares’ Hurdle. He hopped off and I said ‘Would we ever get two and a half? And he said ‘No, she is pure speed’. He was absolutely adamant there is no way you would go two and a half with her.

She has been in very good form and is in totally different shape to last season where it all went a bit pear shaped. She won the Fighting Fifth very easily but then it went wrong.

I was hoping Appreciate It was going to take on Honeysuckle the other day and if anything was going to give her a test, it was going to be him. From our point of view we didn’t get to look at that. She looked very good and she will be very hard to beat but I do think we are at least back where she was (with Epatante) when she won her Champion Hurdle. That might not have been the strongest field in the world and I’m the first to admit that.

I do think we are back in the right place. She is not under our radar as we are getting very good vibes from her. Her form this season has been good but it is the way she has been doing it. Everything has been very professional and she is sharp and good.

Every summer with every horse you are going to do MOT’s and you are going to sort out what you think can help. She does tend to carry her head quite high even when she is cantering or trotting around here. She has always been a horse that wants lots of massages and things like that but she is a sweet filly. Honeysuckle is going to be very hard to beat as she has looked spectacular and faultless the whole way through. It doesn’t look like there is any chink in her armour but we have all had horses like that. All good things do come to an end. Altior got to 19 then all of a sudden things went wrong. You can never say it is unbeatable and it is very rare they stay unbeatable.

Age: 6. Race:Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Cheltenham form: --

Overview: Douvan’s full brother who was purchased by JP McManus for £570,000 after winning a point-to-point, and remains unbeaten in four starts under rules, which includes two victories at Grade Two level. Was made to work when justifying short odds in Haydock’s Supreme Trial last time out, but was conceding weight to some useful rivals and he is another potential superstar in the making.

Trainer comments: See Constitution Hill comments.

Age:7. Race: Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle.

Cheltenham form: 7.

Overview: Looked a mare with a bright future when winning her first three starts in 2019 before she was off the track for almost a year. She also endured an interrupted campaign last season, but has won twice from five starts this season, and produced a smart performance when beating some useful mares in a Listed hurdle at Warwick last time out.

Trainer comments: I’m quietly looking forward to this. She is pretty good. She gets two and a half. I thought she was an absolute rocket to start with and she went wrong literally a week before Cheltenham when she was favourite for the mares’ novices hurdle (in 2021). Last season I couldn’t find her at all.

This season she has come straight back except for the Lanzarote where she jumped into the back of one but that wasn’t her fault. She stuck her neck out at Warwick and she galloped right through to the line. She was very strong at the end. You would think the two and a half at Cheltenham would suit her. It is what it looks like (that she excels over two and a half) as when she won first time at Kempton this season she stayed very well. I thought she was all speed as a youngster but she seems to stay very well which you need to do as it is quite a tough race for those mares.

Age:7. Race: Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase.

Cheltenham form: --

Overview: Useful hurdler who has reached a similar level over fences this season, despite not recording a victory over the larger obstacles yet. Found L’Homme Presse too good in Grade One company when last seen but shaped as though a step up in trip would suit on that occasion, and is a horse who has always been held in high regard by Nicky Henderson.

Trainer comments: Mister Coffey could easily run in the Kim Muir. He is a good solid fellow, looks like he wants to go left-handed and jumps well. That was extraordinary (what he did at Sandown, taking the fence out), I’ve not had the bill yet! I do like him.

Age: 8. Race:Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase

Cheltenham form: 11.

Overview: Last year’s Arkle winner who is unbeaten in ten completed starts over obstacles and got the better of Energumene in an epic clash in the Clarence House Chase when last seen. Has followed the same route as Altior and Sprinter Sacre, and there’s every chance he’s just as good as those two champions. He’s also two from two at Cheltenham having landed the 2019 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, and he rates as the British banker of this year’s Cheltenham Festival, although Henderson may not agree!

Trainer comments: There is no way he is going to be a banker. That was a fantastic race (at Ascot). Everybody loved it bar Willie and myself! Sadly one of us knew we were going to go down. It was great we came out in front but there wasn’t that much in it and it looked like he had got us in trouble – he (Energumene) is a tough horse.

Willie is going to chuck Chacun Pour Soi in as well and you never want to underestimate him. I know they will say he doesn’t travel or do this. He can still be a real player.

There was only a length between them the other day and anything can happen. Going left-handed possibly helps us. There is not much in it and a length is not much.

It (the Clarence House Chase) doesn’t seem to have left a mark on Shishkin. He seems in very good form. He hasn’t schooled since but he will do next week.

He will follow anybody and I would expect the same sort of tactics will be employed by both teams. Willie might try and do something different but I’m sure there will be a good pace on whatever happens.

Shishkin has a different style of racing to Altior and Sprinter Sacre. He hasn’t got the exuberance in his jumping of an Altior or a Sprinter Sacre in the way he doesn’t stand off miles away. You hardly notice him leaving the ground. He is just very quick from A to B. They both had enormous scope and he has got loads of scope but he crosses the fence in a different manner but he is very efficient.

He grew upwards and outwards during the summer. It was very noticeable. I don’t think he is a banker whereas in their era (Altior and Sprinter Sacre’s) they probably were bankers. We have definitely got a fight on our hands whereas you would probably say in Altior and Sprinter they were probably as close to a banker as you could get. I don’t think this horse is.

Turning in at Ascot the other day, you would say crikey we are in trouble, but then stamina kicked in as they had gone a good gallop. That is his strength and I’d say the hill would help him.

Willie says he doesn’t know how we will beat Shishkin but I think he is playing games there as I know perfectly well he is looking forward to having another crack. I don’t think he is that frightened. I would love to have won by 20 lengths but the great thing about it was that it was a great race and everybody got the race that they wanted and it hasn’t spoilt the Champion Chase.

There is very much room for round two. If one had won by 10 lengths you would have said it would have wrecked the Champion Chase but it hasn’t and it has left the door wide open.

Age: 5. Race:Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle

Cheltenham form: --

Overview: Held in high regard by Nicky Henderson who was shocked he got beat on his sole run in a bumper last season. Returned from a 305-day absence to win in impressive style at Newbury in January and is another top-notch novice hurdler for the Seven Barrows team.

Trainer comments: Walking On Air is very good. He took Newbury well enough but there were a couple of weeks where he wasn’t quite moving right. Something tipped him and I thought I can’t afford to do that again quite so close. I would have liked to have got another run into him but Nico is quite confident if any horse can do it on two runs, one bumper and one novice hurdle, it is him as he is so professional.