Nicky Henderson will step Shiskin up to three miles for the first time in the Aintree Bowl which the trainer believes could be the "race of the year" during the 2023 Randox Grand National Festival at Aintree Racecourse.
The nine-year-old looked peerless in 10 straight successes over hurdles and fences before he was disappointingly pulled up in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at last year's Cheltenham Festival. A solid return when third over the minimum distance in the Tingle Creek at Sandown was followed by a superb 16-length back-to-form success when up in trip to 2m5f for the first time in the rearranged Grade One Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham at the end of January. But he couldn't follow up at the Cheltenham Festival where he stayed on to be second, two-and-three-quarter-length, behind Envoi Allen in the Ryanair Chase.
He wasn't foot perfect at Prestbury and Henderson will now step him up in trip again the Aintree Bowl on Grand Opening Day on April 13. Shishkin could take on the likes of Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup second, third and fourth – Bravemansgame, Conflated and Protektorat – as well as the 2021 Gold Cup winner A Plus Tard at Aintree in what is a mouth-watering clash of some of the best chasers around.
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The Seven Barrows handler said: "The Bowl is going to be some race because everyone's threatening to run. It won't be a re-run of the Gold Cup because I can't see the Gold Cup winner coming (Galopin Des Champs), but I can see the rest of them coming. So he's going to have join in with them. It could easily be the best race of the year. Ascot suggested that two-miles-five-furlongs wasn't a problem, so you're going three extra furlongs on an easier track. So it shouldn't technically be a problem.
"If this works then that will definitely tell us where we go next year. You'd be thinking about the King George or even the Betfair Chase to start with. And if the King George goes well then obviously you've got to think about the Gold Cup. But again, everything has to go right."
Henderson has had to deal with a couple of slight issues with Shishkin, who hung left throughout the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham. He added: "We haven't found issues that we haven't corrected and I'm hopeful he won't do all that again. He shouldn't. We haven't done anything dramatic, it was more physio, chiropractors – hopefully we've helped him.
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"He's a horse that has in the past had a few issues. We had those issues and we got him right and it all came together at Ascot and then we slightly fluffed our lines at Cheltenham, which was sad. But he still finished a remarkably good second, having got it all wrong. So if we have ironed that out then we've got every right to think we must have a chance at Aintree."
Meanwhile Aintree Racecourse has been gifted the trophy that was originally presented to Mrs Lurline Brotherton, owner of the 1950 Grand National hero Freebooter, by her family.
Crafted in solid gold by Liverpool firm Boodles, current sponsor of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the magnificent creation will serve as the perpetual trophy for the William Hill Handicap Chase (which is registered as the Freebooter Handicap Chase) on Randox Grand National Day. Staged over three-miles-and-a furlong on the Mildmay Course and carrying Premier Handicap status, it is the contest immediately preceding the Grand National itself. Don’t Push It won the race in 2009 before going on to Grand National glory 12 months’ later.
Trained in North Yorkshire by Bobby Renton and usually ridden by Jimmy Power, Freebooter was one of the great Aintree horses of the post WW2 era. In addition to his 1950 Grand National success, he was also triumphant over the Grand National fences in the Becher Chase (1953), Champion Chase (1949) and Grand Sefton Chase (1949 and 1950).
Dickon White, regional director – North West, The Jockey Club, said: “We are extremely grateful to have been gifted this magnificent trophy by the family of Lurline Brotherton. It is a unique piece of Grand National history. Freebooter is already remembered at Aintree with the facility for winning connections named in his honour and it seems only right that the Grand National trophy of this great Aintree performer is put to use as the perpetual trophy for the race run in his honour.”
