Day one of the Cheltenham Festival ended with the familiar feel of a British trainer at the top of the standings.
A year on from the Irish greenwash in the Prestbury Cup, Nicky Henderson stood top of the pile – albeit temporarily – with his most notable entry of the week, Shishkin, still to come.
A horse unbeaten over fences has to fend off the challenge of Willie Mullins, in particular, in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
And while the gelding has seen parallels drawn with other past Cheltenham favourites from Henderson’s stable in Altior and Sprinter Sacre, the trainer warns any previous cloak of invincibility has well and truly slipped.
“I don’t think he is a banker whereas in their era [Altior and Sprinter Sacre] they probably were bankers,” he said. “We have definitely got a fight on our hands whereas you would probably say in Altior and Sprinter they were probably as close to a banker as you could get. I don’t think this horse is.
“You hardly notice him leaving the ground. He is just very quick from A to B. They both had enormous scope and he has got loads of scope but he crosses the fence in a different manner but he is very efficient.”
The crowds will hope it’s a repeat of a classic head-to-head with Energumene at the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, one of the stand-out races of the season to date.
And of that particular rematch over the Cheltenham fences, Henderson said: “There is very much room for round two. If one had won by 10 lengths, you would have said it would have wrecked the Champion Chase but it hasn’t and it has left the door wide open.
“It doesn’t seem to have left a mark on Shishkin. He seems in very good form. He will follow anybody and I would expect the same sort of tactics will be employed by both teams. Willie might try and do something different but I’m sure there will be a good pace on whatever happens.”
Shishkin is going into the race as odds-on favourite with Energumene and another Mullins entry, Chacun Pour Soi, expected by the bookmakers to pose the major threats.
