Sprinter Sacre made a remarkable racing comeback when he won the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase today at Cheltenham.
Battled
The Nicky Henderson-trained 10-year-old won the same race at the Festival in 2013, during a two year period when the gelding was unbeaten over fences.
But since then he’s battled with heart problems, missing the entire of the 2014 season. Although he returned to the racecourse in January 2015, he pulled up in the Queen Mother Champion Chase 12 months ago, and it seemed pretty certain that his glory days were behind him.
But the tide has turned in the past four months, with Sprinter Sacre winning the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham in November and the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton in December. Today he was sent off second favourite for the Champion Chase.
Competitive
It was one of the most competitive races of the Festival, with the Mullins’ banker Un De Sceaux a short-priced favourite, and other Grade 1 winners Special Tiara, Dodging Bullets, God’s Own, Sire De Grugy, Somersby and Sizing Granite making this a strong renewal.
Un De Sceaux and Special Tiara were leading the field four fences out, but Sprinter Sacre and jockey Nico de Boinville were tracking them. When the leaders began to weaken on the turning to home, Sprinter Sacre ran on up the hill to finish 3½ lengths clear of the favourite.
Emotional
Trainer Nicky Henderson was understandably emotional after the victory. “To come back and do that after all that time – it’s incredible,” he said. “The two years in the wilderness were dark days. It’s right up there with one of my best achievements.”
Sprinter Sacre has won his past three starts, which begs the question – is he as good as he once was?
“He’s been a very special horse,” said Henderson. “To have those two golden years when he was unbeaten was incredible – I always said I don’t think he’s got back there but maybe he has. He had to be as good as he was to do that today.”
Jockey Nico de Boinville, who also won last year’s Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup on Coneygree, said his win today compared with his victory last March. “I thought I used every superlative last year, but this is unbelievable. It’s definitely on a par with winning the Gold Cup. Sprinter Sacre gave me his all today and it is an absolute privilege to ride him.”
Double
Nigel Twiston-Davies was another trainer to enjoy an unforgettable day at Cheltenham, claiming a valuable double of wins.
Blaklion netted the RSA Chase under jockey Ryan Hatch with a close win over Shaneshill, while Ballyandy ended the day on a high for the team with a win in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper.
Nigel’s son Sam was in the plate for the Bumper win, and Sam also rode into the winners’ enclosure on Diego Du Charmil in the previous race, the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap, for trainer Paul Nicholls. It was a one-two for Nicholls in the race, as he also sent off the second-placed Romain De Senam.
Other wins
The Mullins/Walsh team couldn’t meet the same highs as Tuesday, but today Yorkhill took their winning total to four races with victory in the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle.
Diamond King took the Coral Cup for trainer Gordon Richards and jockey Davy Russell, while the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase went to Aidan Coleman on the Martin Keighley-trained Any Currency.
It was a well-deserved win for Any Currency, who has finished runner-up in this race for the previous two years.