Trainer Nicky Henderson today described his star novice chasers Long Run and Punchestowns as the best horses he has handled in a training career spanning nearly 32 years.
The duo are set to lock horns in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham on Wednesday, March 17, with stable jockey Barry Geraghty partnering Punchestowns and amateur Sam Waley-Cohen due to ride Long Run, who is owned by the rider’s father Robert.
Henderson was speaking at a Cheltenham Racecourse media day at his Seven Barrows Stable in Lambourn, where he also elaborated on plans for many of his other Festival-bound stars.
“Long Run and Punchestowns are two horses that could go the whole way. They’re quite special,” said Henderson. “They are the best that I’ve had and my duty is to keep them in one piece to get where they need to be in two years (for the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup). Luckily there is no clash with jockeys.”
Long Run won the three-mile Feltham Novices’ Chase at Kempton on his British debut on Boxing Day and followed up with a runaway victory over two miles at Warwick on February 13.
“Long Run came out of his last run well,” added Henderson. “He is quite freakish in that he genuinely stays three miles but as we saw at Warwick he also has remarkable pace as well that he showed over two miles. It gives us more opportunities for the future although we’ll obviously find out an awful lot more at Cheltenham.
“He is in The Irish Independent Arkle Chase but that would be his second option at the moment. If the ground was bottomless at Cheltenham we might be tempted to come back to two miles for that because three miles on heavy ground in the RSA Chase would be an absolute slog.
“Punchestowns will probably go with a few of mine for a gallop at Newbury on Sunday. We’ll also run Burton Port in the RSA Chase and while it may not have been the best Reynoldstown ever that he won, he won it well and that’s two Grade Twos now this year.”
