Richard Johnson: Trials Day preview, Constitution Hill, Cheltenham and more

It has always been a big meeting but in recent years it has become a two-day meeting, there is huge prize money on offer there and for the Irish trainers especially, it’s an ideal six weeks out before the Festival. 

It fits in very well for their calendar and their good horses to have a run there and go to Cheltenham. 

The same as here in Britain, we have Trials Day at Cheltenham this weekend. If you have got a real serious Festival contender then ideally you want to run between eight and four weeks beforehand, it depends on the horse. 

All horses are slightly different and it depends on the trainer as well. Trials Day here is just the week before Dublin Racing Festival,  they are both great timing for trainers to run their horses. Even if a horse wins well, it still takes a reasonable amount out of a horse running on soft ground so they do need that rest when you are trying to then get them to perform for the top level again. 

There’s only five entries. The New Lion was disappointing at Newcastle but I think they might ride him differently this time, they might be worried about a lack of pace, but making the running didn’t suit him at Newcastle. He is still a babyish horse, as much as anything else. Obviously they want to win but they will want to have a proper race and learn a bit about him as well. 

Sir Gino is very short, 1-2 on, the price is right. I think everything on Saturday is going to be in Sir Gino's favour. He is unbeaten, he is an absolute superstar and sometimes he hasn’t been given the credit he deserves. I am not saying he is a certainty for the Champion Hurdle but he is very exciting. 

Sir Gino, it was a shame he was ill last year and missed the Festival but at the same time, he couldn’t have been more impressive at Kempton having not run for a year and that will sharpen him up. We will all be a bit wiser after seeing them both, Nicky and Dan [Skelton], they are running them and it is important to see them running against each other. 

It is great to see them taking each other on. When you get to the real Champion Hurdle races, there are only four or five through the season, there would have been ways of running somewhere else but this is great. The New Lion, I am sure all their connections want to see if he has got the speed for two miles around Cheltenham. I don’t think he has to beat Sir Gino this weekend but he needs to show he is in that bracket. 

If Grey Dawning runs the same race as he did at Haydock then I think this should be quite an easy opportunity for him. It’s three miles around Cheltenham, it’ll be soft ground, I am sure Dan and Harry [Skelton] won't want him out on his feet at the end of the race and to then get back ready for the Gold Cup. 

It’s the right race, it is great to see him there, I am not surprised they didn't go for the King George as that would have been a speed test, he thrives around Cheltenham as well. When you have one of those horses you may as well go back to a track he really likes. 

Impose Toi surprised me to be honest, he was always a good horse but he seems to have got better and better with each run, you couldn't have not been impressed last time out, he does travel well, he is a typical Nicky Henderson horse. In the Stayers’ you have to stay but if you can travel then it gives you a chance, sometimes you can get outpaced around Cheltenham but he won't have that problem. It should be his race to win. 

We have got some really exciting horses for some of the main races at Cheltenham, we are back on the right footing, we might not have the strength in depth of the Irish but we are getting back on the right way. 

I was at Chepstow that day when he won, it takes a lot to win a Welsh National off top weight, it was impressive. He is a really strong horse, jumps well, travels well, maybe apart from the run in the Betfair Chase where he just never really showed up, maybe it came too soon, he has done very little wrong for the last 12 months. 

Winning the Coral Gold Cup, the Welsh Grand National, he has done a lot right. He has got to stay for the Gold Cup and he will relish that. 

There is no reason for him not to run well out in Ireland and it’ll be a very interesting one with Grey Dawning too, to see how we can go in the Gold Cup. Willie [Mullins] will probably run four in the Irish race, but that will be a very good yardstick when the Brits and the Irish take each other on. 

We definitely hope so. Unfortunately until we get to mid-March we won’t quite know. Nicky has some smart horses, Dan [Skelton] and Olly [Murphy] too, Harry Derham, we have some good young trainers here that are really starting to get good ammunition and doing really well at it. 

Nothing stays the same forever, Willie Mullins will still be hard to beat no matter what but we are definitely better, two or three years ago it was a bit grim but we are certainly heading back in the right direction. 

I am sure for Harry it is a great opportunity. JP has got some amazing horses and he has been the most unbelievable supporter of jumps racing over the last probably 50 years, there is no bigger supporter of everybody involved. 

For Harry, I don’t think he could turn it down because you can ride for all the big trainers on high class horses and as much as Paul Nicholls’ yard is powerful and a good job, having the chance to ride for JP in his silks on very good horses is irresistible. 

Harry is amazing. He has gotten better and better, and has a very level head on his shoulders. No doubt there is pressure because they do have good horses and want to win big races. They don't put pressure on the jockeys but you want to perform and win in those colours. I didn’t see it coming, at the same time it's no surprise they thought he was right for the job. 

Mark Walsh has been a brilliant jockey for JP, but unfortunately we can all carry on forever as we get older. I would be amazed if JP and Mark hadn’t spoken, I don't think it would have been a shock to Mark, he would have heard the news before it was announced to the public. 

He has been amazing and has a brilliant team around him. He leaves the trainers to it, I'm sure they have discussions behind the scenes, but not only is he an amazing winner, he is also an amazing loser, he is very gracious in defeat. Not every owner takes defeat well but you can judge an owner on how well they take a loss. 

That’s it, we could do with another one of him. He is someone that has supported so many trainers and jockeys, it was always a privilege to put his colours on, the people he has got working for him too, it is a great setup that does it properly. I think we are all hoping that he’ll live forever, he has probably been one of, if not the, most important person in National Hunt racing in Britain and Ireland. 

The most important thing to say is that I am not going to tell Nicky Henderson what to do and how to train a horse. In my years of being involved in National Hunt racing, he is one of the leading figures of all-time. It is very frustrating to watch because you know how amazing Constitution Hill is, no-one can understand what goes through his head and I don't think he does either,

He is still a relatively young horse and I can see why they would give him a run on the flat, they want him to have a nice time, they want a horse to have confidence and that is important. They want them to enjoy themselves, the more relaxed and confident they will be and they will be hoping if he has  arca eta southwell and enjoys himself,it will help him relax. 

Maybe he is panicking at the hurdles, occasionally when he does that he throws himself on the ground, I was at Newcastle and the crowd were so happy to see him. Then when he fell you could tell that everyone was devastated. I think everyone feels a connection to him and it is very important that the press let Nicky and connections do what they feel is right, I don't believe anyone would think Nicky wouldn't do what is right for the horse. 

Whether he runs over hurdles again that remains to be seen, but we will all be looking forward to watching him run at Southwell and hope he wins impressively and enjoys himself as well.