Nicky Henderson Racks Up 2000 Career Wins Over Jumps

It took more than 30 years of hurdles and fences, but venerable trainer Nicky Henderson recorded his 2000th career jumps racing victory with a smashing win from Punchestowns at Kempton on Friday. 

Henderson, trainer of such Cheltenham Festival fancies as Binocular and Punjabi, got his career off to a start in 1978 when scoring at Uttoexeter with a gelding named Dukery. 

It's been a long way to today's massive win, in the 2m4.5f graduation chase, and Henderson declared himself "relieved we have got (t)here." The respected conditioner was then sure to add, "Kempton just seems to suit our horses, probably because the ground is never too testing." 

The situation was likely a bit testy for Henderson as he had three charges in the Kempton card with two of them missing the winners circle - leaving Henderson hanging at 1999 before Punchestown stepped up to topple a field of 4 when sent off at a 4/6 price with Barry Geraghty up. 

Henderson remains some way off the incredible total put up by National Hunt legend Martin Pipe, who boasts an incredible 3,930 career wins over jumps. It appears as though the quest to 3,931 begins tomorrow with a number of Henderson's top contenders set to line up at Newbury - all eager to prove their worth before another widely-anticipated Cheltenham Festival.