Nicky Henderson has graciously conceded to Paul Nicholls in the chase for the National Hunt Trainers’ championship as he failed to close the gap at Aintree this weekend.
The Aintree Festival was likely to prove a watershed moment for the destination of the 2021/22 Trainers’ Championship but the Grand National, with a prize value of £500,000 to the winner, was absent of any participants from the two leading trainers.
Nicholls had no entries while Henderson was due to rely upon Caribean Boy, only for the horse to be withdrawn with a pulled hamstring.
Henderson has famously never trained a Grand National winner so it was somewhat ironic that given he’s trained plenty of winners for Robert Waley-Cohen over the years, this year’s winner, Noble Yeats was under the tutelage of Emmet Mullins.
The 2021/22 title race finishes a week on Saturday at the “Whitbread” meeting at Sandown Park but there are a number of substantial pots en-route with Perth ’s valuable Festival taking place on the three days prior.
Henderson said: “The title race is not up for grabs. We had a good try, but there is not much left.
“We got within touching distance and we might have worried Paul for five minutes, but not much more. We have got a lot to look forward to, as we have got a lot of very good young horses.”
Henderson sent out plenty of runners at Aintree and hit the target at Grade 1 level with Jonbon and Epatante but Nicholls struck back with Clan Des Obeaux in the Betway Bowl and Gelino Bello in the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle.
With Shishkin ruled out for the season with a rare bone condition, that will see Henderson without his standard bearer for the Grade 1 Celebration Chase and that could influence the next stop for Cheltenham Festival hero, Constitution Hill.
A date at Sandown appears an obvious target though his owner, Michael Buckley, could be tempted to take on Honeysuckle on her home soil at Punchestown.
Buckley, JP McManus and Henderson are due to meet next week in order to decide where their horses will be targeted.
