Raceodds News

Latest Column - Raceodds.com

Feb 8, 2010

Henderson relishing Long Run test

Nicky Henderson is fascinated by the prospect of trying Long Run over two miles in the Kingmaker Novices' Chase at Warwick on Saturday.

The five-year-old slammed the very smart Tazbar on his British debut in the three-mile Feltham Novices' Chase at Kempton over Christmas.

He also holds an entry in the novice chase over three miles at Newbury on the same day, but Warwick is the aim.

"We'd have to seriously think about running him at Newbury over three miles if Warwick was in danger (from the weather)," said Henderson.

"A lot of the entries we are doing at the moment, we are just trying to cover everything.

"It might sound crazy to have him in over two miles at one place and three at another, but I do want to go two miles I must admit - for a little bit of fascination if nothing else.

"He's got an extraordinary amount of pace this horse and the idea of trying to do it is to preserve the horse a little bit. I just think he might get easier races over two miles.

"Going a good strong gallop will suit him and I think it will suit his jumping as you can let him stride on a little bit.

"I would like to run him somewhere, I do think he needs another run to try and teach him English rather than French.

"He's a very good jumper but a lot of French horses have their own technique of jumping those Auteuil obstacles - hedges you might call them rather than fences - and they do take quite a bit off the top, we've got to teach him to jump over the top.

"Yogi (Breisner) is coming again and I'm not going to show him a fence at home, he hasn't seen one since Kempton and he won't see one before wherever he goes, we are going to do it all indoors.

"I just think that at two miles he might find it easier, we will see, this is a Henderson hunch.

"He doesn't work like a three-mile horse and Kauto Star was able to win a Tingle Creek and a good horse can do that sort of thing."

Get each new Article sent straight to your inbox. Never miss another tip!