Chance to land rare treble sees Henderson take risk

The form book suggests that Nicky Henderson’s horse of a lifetime should prevail in today’s five-runner Boylesports.com Champion Chase, the day one highlight of the prestigious Punchestown Festival.

Yet very few horses have managed to win premier Grade One contests at Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown – racing’s premier three festivals – in the same season because of their close proximity.

Just 42 races separate Cheltenham, Aintree and today’s date with destiny. Even Moscow Flyer, Jessica Harrington’s great champion who was ridden by Sprinter Sacre’s jockey Barry Geraghty, suffered a short-head defeat to the unheralded Rathgar Beau in this contest in 2005 after winning Cheltenham’s Queen Mother Champion Chase and Aintree’s Melling Chase.

One of the few horses to pull off this great treble was Istabraq, the legendary JP McManus-owned and Aidan O’Brien-trained champion hurdler who won at all three premier meetings in 1999.

However, Henderson and Geraghty should be applauded for putting Sprinter Sacre to the test after he turned the Champion Chase – and the Melling Chase – into procession thanks to mesmeric rounds of jumping. The easier decision would have been to put Sprinter Sacre out to grass for the summer after his four successes this season.

The champion, affectionately likened to ‘a black aeroplane’ by connections because of his electrifying jumping, is now the most popular horse in training, both on the Flat and over obstacles, after nine successive wins over fences – a sequence that began at Doncaster in December 2011.

Today’s main opponent in this intriguing two-mile test is Sizing Europe, a former Champion Chase winner and one of Ireland’s most consistent horses of recent years. Henderson could not have been more bullish, however, after his stable star enjoyed an uneventful trip across the Irish Sea on Sunday.

“You have to be mindful of horses at this time of year,” said Henderson, who will become champion trainer this Saturday for the first time since the mid-1980s.

“He’s been to Cheltenham and he’s been to Aintree – it’s quite easy to say he’s not getting terribly hard races, but those Festivals take quite a bit out of horses, whatever happens.

“We’ve always said we’d like to take him over there to Ireland. In fact, Aintree was the one where I surprised myself a little bit as that was the one that slotted in that I didn’t expect to do. It’s nice to be able to go, it’s always been a great meeting and I think the horse deserves to go there.”

Henderson appears unperturbed by the testing ground, pointing to the fact that Sprinter Sacre handled heavy ground at Sandown last December when sauntering to victory in the Tingle Creek Chase.

“Earlier in the year Barry was very worried when it was soft, but it didn’t bother him,” he added. “He’s won on that heavy ground before so it’s not like we are going into unknown territory. When you have something like this you have to enjoy it – I’m probably the person that enjoys it the least. We just want to do our best.”

With the ground riding so testing, Henry de Bromhead admits he had little option but to run Sizing Europe against his Cheltenham conqueror rather than over three miles later in the week.

“We had the choice again, but with the ground as it is it forced our hand somewhat,” said De Bromhead. “It’s the old cliché – you should never be afraid of the one horse as anything can happen. Sprinter Sacre fairly put us away at Cheltenham but we just haven’t got the ground to step him up in trip.”

Victory would also see Sprinter Sacre’s earnings this season nudge past the £550,000-plus that Sue and Harvey Smith’s Auroras Encore has accrued in 2012-13 thanks to the Yorkshire horse’s success in the John Smith’s Grand National.

Meanwhile, Ireland’s all conquering trainer Willie Mullins believes Champagne Fever’s previous experience of running at the Punchestown Festival will stand him in good stead for today’s Herald Champion Novice Hurdle, the main support race.

Winner of the championship bumpers at Cheltenham and Punchestown last spring, the six-year-old is aiming to complete what would be another significant Festival double after making all of the running in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in March under Ruby Walsh.

The prolific Mullins also gave his grey the option of running over longer distances later this week, but has decided to stick at the minimum distance.

Beaten a little under three lengths by Champagne Fever in the Supreme was the Jessica Harrington-trained Jezki, who turns up for a rematch.

The five-year-old had previously won each of his first four starts over hurdles and beat the Mullins runner in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse in December.

Jockey JT McNamara has been transferred to a hospital in Dublin after being paralysed in a fall at the Cheltenham Festival last month.

He was injured following a fall from Galaxy Rock at the first fence in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup and had to be airlifted to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, where he had remained since March 14.

The transfer enables McMamara to be closer to his family and friends, with the rider said to be in a “very positive frame of mind” in spite of his injuries.