BY rights, Champ should be having a second crack at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, but it is very possible he could turn up there a day earlier for the Stayers Hurdle after he won the Howden Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday.
The race was billed as a “confidence booster” before going back chasing but it is funny how these things work out and, of course, it is not like we haven’t been here before; the most successful staying hurdler of the past two decades, Big Buck’s, only switched back to hurdles after fluffing the last and unseating his jockey in the Hennessy Gold Cup.
Two seasons ago, Champ won the RSA Chase and looked like a chaser of immense promise, but it all went wrong last season. After a delayed start, Nicky Henderson had to run him in the Game Spirit Chase over two miles at Newbury for his Gold Cup prep and, after tanking through the race and running a blinder to finish second, he went to Cheltenham as the great British hope (no hope?) against Ireland in the Gold Cup.
It was a bit like the English cricket team against Australia – he broke the first six fences and was pulled up at the seventh. Clearly something was wrong and he was diagnosed with a kissing spine, undergoing an operation for it in the summer.
Henderson had hoped to use the Long Walk to see whether his Cesarewitch winner, Buzz, got three miles over hurdles, but the gelding fractured his pelvis (he is proving a good patient by all accounts) at the end of a routine eve-of-race gallop on Friday, which gave Champ’s win some poignancy.
Denne historien er fra December 23, 2021-utgaven av Horse & Hound.
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Denne historien er fra December 23, 2021-utgaven av Horse & Hound.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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'Sorry, but I wasn't feeling it'
Fresh from the opening meet, Tessa Waugh hasn't quite yet been bitten by the hunting bug. Without the crisp autumnal air and cheek-pinching cold she hoped for, it's a sluggish start
New pair pull off a win
A former European Championships pony is on form with his new rider, while elsewhere former showjumpers and eventers take ribbons
Lording it over the rest
Horses who have returned from injury, a second generation homebred and a long format specialist score on the final weekend of the British season
Smith hits flying form
A \"her way or no way\" mare helps Zoe Smith to an impressive ribbon haul and a rider beats his own boss to the top spot
Jankorado hits the jackpot
Paul Sims is triumphant despite his interrupted jump-off preparation and a borrowed horse comes up trumps
Peanut
From \"dangerous, scary\" to hedge-hopping brilliance, hunting has been the making of this unstable but very lovable equine character
She's a corker
Communication, says long-standing and highly respected Belvoir master Lady Sarah McCorquodale, is the key to all, as Catherine Austen discovers
Access all areas Cavalier Centre
The Cavalier Centre is a fully accessible, state-of-the-art equestrian centre designed to improve lives through horse-based activities. Ellie May Forrester pays a visit
'Use it or lose it'
Not everyone wants to reach for the pipe and slippers at a certain age. Becky Murray speaks to some veteran horse-and-rider combos for their secrets of human and equine longevity
A new way forward
Worm control in horses is vital, but established methods will not remain effective for much longer. Tim Mair FRCVS explains why and how we need to change
