Nicky Henderson Heaps Praise on Long Run

It’s getting down to crunch time as the Cheltenham Festival draws closer and the recent trend of conditioners indicating their best chance at glory has seen Nicky Henderson become the latest to confirm his yard’s chasing standout. Long Run, a competitive option for the festival showpiece, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, has been unraced since a dramatic score in the King George VI Chase at Kempton.

Speaking to At The Races, Henderson declared “He’s my best by quite a long way.” Henderson has never won the Gold Cup and it’s obvious that he considers the talented six year-old to be his ticket to festival glory.

Long Run must improve his fortunes at Cheltenham if he is to be a factor at any point in the reckoning. The son of Cadoudal was a beaten third to the respectable Weapon’s Amnesty when sent off as the 11/4 second favourite in the 2010 iteration of the RSA Chase.

Tellingly, Long Run’s seasonal debut came at Cheltenham but a third place finish was the best he could muster as he was undone by Little Josh (who will miss this year’s festival) when sent off as the 2/1 betting choice carrying a mere 10-5.

The second to last fence has been the bogey fence for Long Run on both occasions- undoing all progress at a key moment after spending the bulk of the race tracking the leaders. Henderson dismissed the performance in the seasonal tip at Cheltenham as too much too soon for the bay or brown gelding. “The reason why he didn’t (win) in the Paddy Power was that two miles and five in a competitive handicap just got him out of his comfort zone,” he continued, “I’m not worried about Cheltenham… He’s very young for a Gold Cup horse but there’s nothing else you can do and he stays.”