Nicky Henderson reveals his challengers for Champion Hurdle
Veteran trainer, Nicky Henderson, has confirmed his team for the Champion Hurdle, which is scheduled to take place at Cheltenham in England on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. He will pin his hopes on quality runners like Grandouet and Binocular, who are fabulous
performers and have been delivering some fantastic results over the years.
According to the veteran, “Binocular has unfairly become rather a forgotten contender, but he has pleased us since Leopardstown; he has really kicked in now. We thought long and hard about running Grandouet in the Kingwell last weekend, and I know Corky
[Browne, head lad] was keen for him to go there, but in the end we decided against it on the testing ground. He’ll work at Kempton on Saturday.”
Binocular has got a splendid record and he will definitely be looking forward to treat his fans in the upcoming important events. He has maintained a terrific strike rate and will not make life easy for his opponents. Even his stable mates will be wary of
him going into some of the races.
The nine-year-old gelding has participated in a total of 28 events, winning 13 of them whereas secured the runner up spot on four times. In addition to that, he has finished in third place on five occasions, which proves that he cannot be taken lightly at
all.
The French runner is not in winning form at the moment though, as he ended up third last time around. He will have to make a big improvement in order to surprise one and all in the Champion Hurdle.
On the other hand, Grandouet cannot be ruled out of contention, as he is still very young and knows how to deliver at the highest level. He has challenged the best in the past and is fully aware of handling pressure.
The six-year-old gelding has won a total of six races out of 14 attempts, which shows what he is capable of achieving. He has not appeared in any race this year, so he will be pretty fresh at the moment. However, he should definitely have some practice before
appearing in a major event like the Champion Hurdle.
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