Andrew Nelis racing

Nicky Henderson  is considering treading the same path he did with Altior following his victory in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – by sending this year’s winner of the race, Shiskin, over fences next season. It was a move which worked perfectly with Altior, who won the Cheltenham Festival opener in 2016 and then famously extended his unbeaten sequence over jumps by 14 further races – including the Arkle Challenge Trophy and two successive Queen Mother Champion Chases. Although a final decision has yet to be made on  Shishkin ’s next move, he is already as short as 4-1 for the 2021 Arkle – and Henderson admits he is “tempted” by a switch to fences. Since falling on his debut over hurdles at Newbury in December, the talented six-year-old – who runs in the colours of Joe Donnelly, also owner of dual Gold Cup hero Al Boum Photo – has improved with each run, culminating in a head victory from Abacadabras at the Festival. Henderson said: “Joe is a great man and he leaves it...