Relaxation key to Simonsig comeback
22 Sep 2015 19:47 pm
Nicky Henderson is hopeful injury-plagued steeplechaser Simonsig can have a successful campaign over fences this season if he can be taught how to switch off and relax in his races.
The dual Cheltenham Festival winner, unbeaten in three attempts over fences, has not raced since winning the Arkle comfortably in March 2013 - and he did so despite taking a strong hold of Barry Geraghty's reins in the early part of that race.
But, in an exclusive interview for Channel 4 Racing, Henderson voiced genuine belief that Simonsig could give Silviniaco Conti a run for his money in the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day, when the Paul Nicholls gelding will be hunting a hat-trick in the famous three-mile Kempton showpiece.
The Lambourn handler, a three-time champion trainer, said: "Simonsig needs to relax. That's what we're spending a long time doing at the moment. He's doing a lot of slow work as we speak. We've got to work out his trip but he won the Neptune in his first year [at Cheltenham, over 2m5f] when he was great. He switched off well and was very relaxed about it all. We've got to get that back.
"We've even talked about the King George. Now that may well be optimistic but it doesn't stop us talking about it." His theory on how to stop Silviniaco Conti? "We'll just sit on his tail and do him for speed."
Henderson is more upbeat regarding the nine-year-old Simonsig's future than he is about the two other top-class Seven Barrows stalwarts, Bobs Worth and Sprinter Sacre, who have also failed to win since 2013.
"At least Simonsig's done nothing wrong on the racecourse whereas the others have shown they've underperformed. He's just had injuries so you can't say he's lost it - it's just that he hasn't been able to get back there. So in a funny way he's the one I'd be most optimistic about because we think he's still very capable. I still think they all are but the other two have got to find their form back. He hasn't actually lost his form."
They've decimated the novice chase programme... they're saying we've got to be prepared to run horses against our own. Well that's ridiculous
Henderson wants to see Sprinter Sacre, the wonder horse of 2012-13, give regular work rider and jockey Nico de Boinville positive signals before committing the nine-year-old to a plan. But he's already got a possible early target lined up for 2013 Gold Cup winner Bobs Worth.
"He seems in particularly good form at the moment and the handicapper has dropped him to 151. If [reigning Gold Cup champion] Coneygree would like to turn up in the Hennessy he's going to push an awful lot of horses out of the handicap and will put Bob bang slap in the middle of it, which is very handy. If we're getting 20 pounds off Coneygree it doesn't mean we're going to win but it's going to make the race quite lopsided. You'd need a 150-rated horse just to get into the handicap."
In what was an otherwise difficult last season, Henderson saddled the first three home in March's Triumph Hurdle and is carefully outlining plans for trio. Winner Peace And Co will have a campaign ending up at the Champion Hurdle, despite the poor record of five-year-olds in the race. The same applies to My Tent Or Yours, another Henderson horse returning after a season off. Triumph Hurdle runner-up Top Notch, who needs soft ground, will contest a race in Auteuil, France, in November. But the third horse, Hargam, prefers good ground and may consequently be the first of the trio to appear at a racecourse before the deep winter ground arrives.
Henderson also discussed plans for Ma Filleule, the mare who was a runaway winner of the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences in April last year, but winless in five races since. "They've got two new mares' Listed Chases - one at Carlisle and one at Huntingdon in November and Janaury - so we'll obviously use those. Then we've just got to have a crack at a couple of Grade 1s. She was second in the Ascot Chase and second in the Ryanair and both of those will come into the equation. It's possibly the last season before she goes to stud."
The 64-year-old trainer is particularly keen to hit the ground running with his novice chasers, as a number of high-class hurdlers switch to the larger obstacles. "I hope they're going to be an important part of the year," said Henderson. "We need some good chasers coming out at the top end and we were a bit short on them last year. Luckily the hurdlers were good last year and so these novice chasers are a vital part of it. Whisper will stay over hurdles and we'll have a look at the World Hurdle. But we've got 20 pretty useful hurdlers going chasing, such as L'Ami Serge, Call The Cops, Special Agent, Volnay De Thaix, Vyta du Roc, Vaniteux and Caracci Apache."
Henderson said moves by the British Horseracing Authority to effectively replace many of the level-weights novice chases with handicaps had raised inherent difficulties for his first-season chasers, however.
"The problem is going to be finding races for them because they've decimated the novice chase programme and what they're saying to us is we've got to be prepared to run horses against our own. Well that's ridiculous. At the end of the day, if they don't give these horses a chance of starting somewhere there will be no chasers. We should stop getting so obsessed with field sizes otherwise there just won't be any chasers. Where do all the good horses run? In the good novice chases at Newbury and Ascot and so on you only get four or five runners but they will be four or five good horses."
Henderson said he sympathised with trainers who did not want to run novice chasers against high-class opponents for fear of risking a harsh handicap rise. He added: "That's something the handicapper has caused. Who wants to take on a Vaniteux, rated 150? In Ireland they have a much better system. They have a stack of beginners' chases and you're not allowed to run in a handicap before you've had three runs over fences. It's sensible."
Nicholls is currently a 1-4 favourite with Coral to be champion trainer for the ninth time come next April, with Henderson 5-1 with William Hill.
22 Sep 2015 19:47 pm
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The way they were: Henderson and Simonsig at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival
Nicky Henderson is hopeful injury-plagued steeplechaser Simonsig can have a successful campaign over fences this season if he can be taught how to switch off and relax in his races.
The dual Cheltenham Festival winner, unbeaten in three attempts over fences, has not raced since winning the Arkle comfortably in March 2013 - and he did so despite taking a strong hold of Barry Geraghty's reins in the early part of that race.
But, in an exclusive interview for Channel 4 Racing, Henderson voiced genuine belief that Simonsig could give Silviniaco Conti a run for his money in the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day, when the Paul Nicholls gelding will be hunting a hat-trick in the famous three-mile Kempton showpiece.
The Lambourn handler, a three-time champion trainer, said: "Simonsig needs to relax. That's what we're spending a long time doing at the moment. He's doing a lot of slow work as we speak. We've got to work out his trip but he won the Neptune in his first year [at Cheltenham, over 2m5f] when he was great. He switched off well and was very relaxed about it all. We've got to get that back.
"We've even talked about the King George. Now that may well be optimistic but it doesn't stop us talking about it." His theory on how to stop Silviniaco Conti? "We'll just sit on his tail and do him for speed."
Henderson is more upbeat regarding the nine-year-old Simonsig's future than he is about the two other top-class Seven Barrows stalwarts, Bobs Worth and Sprinter Sacre, who have also failed to win since 2013.
"At least Simonsig's done nothing wrong on the racecourse whereas the others have shown they've underperformed. He's just had injuries so you can't say he's lost it - it's just that he hasn't been able to get back there. So in a funny way he's the one I'd be most optimistic about because we think he's still very capable. I still think they all are but the other two have got to find their form back. He hasn't actually lost his form."
They've decimated the novice chase programme... they're saying we've got to be prepared to run horses against our own. Well that's ridiculous
Henderson wants to see Sprinter Sacre, the wonder horse of 2012-13, give regular work rider and jockey Nico de Boinville positive signals before committing the nine-year-old to a plan. But he's already got a possible early target lined up for 2013 Gold Cup winner Bobs Worth.
"He seems in particularly good form at the moment and the handicapper has dropped him to 151. If [reigning Gold Cup champion] Coneygree would like to turn up in the Hennessy he's going to push an awful lot of horses out of the handicap and will put Bob bang slap in the middle of it, which is very handy. If we're getting 20 pounds off Coneygree it doesn't mean we're going to win but it's going to make the race quite lopsided. You'd need a 150-rated horse just to get into the handicap."
In what was an otherwise difficult last season, Henderson saddled the first three home in March's Triumph Hurdle and is carefully outlining plans for trio. Winner Peace And Co will have a campaign ending up at the Champion Hurdle, despite the poor record of five-year-olds in the race. The same applies to My Tent Or Yours, another Henderson horse returning after a season off. Triumph Hurdle runner-up Top Notch, who needs soft ground, will contest a race in Auteuil, France, in November. But the third horse, Hargam, prefers good ground and may consequently be the first of the trio to appear at a racecourse before the deep winter ground arrives.
Henderson also discussed plans for Ma Filleule, the mare who was a runaway winner of the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences in April last year, but winless in five races since. "They've got two new mares' Listed Chases - one at Carlisle and one at Huntingdon in November and Janaury - so we'll obviously use those. Then we've just got to have a crack at a couple of Grade 1s. She was second in the Ascot Chase and second in the Ryanair and both of those will come into the equation. It's possibly the last season before she goes to stud."
The 64-year-old trainer is particularly keen to hit the ground running with his novice chasers, as a number of high-class hurdlers switch to the larger obstacles. "I hope they're going to be an important part of the year," said Henderson. "We need some good chasers coming out at the top end and we were a bit short on them last year. Luckily the hurdlers were good last year and so these novice chasers are a vital part of it. Whisper will stay over hurdles and we'll have a look at the World Hurdle. But we've got 20 pretty useful hurdlers going chasing, such as L'Ami Serge, Call The Cops, Special Agent, Volnay De Thaix, Vyta du Roc, Vaniteux and Caracci Apache."
Henderson said moves by the British Horseracing Authority to effectively replace many of the level-weights novice chases with handicaps had raised inherent difficulties for his first-season chasers, however.
"The problem is going to be finding races for them because they've decimated the novice chase programme and what they're saying to us is we've got to be prepared to run horses against our own. Well that's ridiculous. At the end of the day, if they don't give these horses a chance of starting somewhere there will be no chasers. We should stop getting so obsessed with field sizes otherwise there just won't be any chasers. Where do all the good horses run? In the good novice chases at Newbury and Ascot and so on you only get four or five runners but they will be four or five good horses."
Henderson said he sympathised with trainers who did not want to run novice chasers against high-class opponents for fear of risking a harsh handicap rise. He added: "That's something the handicapper has caused. Who wants to take on a Vaniteux, rated 150? In Ireland they have a much better system. They have a stack of beginners' chases and you're not allowed to run in a handicap before you've had three runs over fences. It's sensible."
Nicholls is currently a 1-4 favourite with Coral to be champion trainer for the ninth time come next April, with Henderson 5-1 with William Hill.
