Andrew Nelis racing

The transformation began at one Cheltenham Festival and was completed at the next. What came before and after were largely mirror images of each other, but it is in no small part due to the before and the after that what came in between was so wonderful to watch. Nobody could fully explain quite why  Rooster Booster  suddenly blossomed in the way he did, and there were times when even those closest to him seemingly found it hard to believe what was taking place, but the racecourse evidence was impossible to deny. A horse who had spent his already long career playing the role of valiant loser had metamorphosed into a regular and brilliant winner. For a memorable autumn, winter and spring we had to redefine our understanding of an animal we thought we knew well. We found there was more to discover about Rooster Booster and the more we learned the more we loved. It helped, of course, that he was grey. No harm was done, either, by the fact he had such a frivolous and cat...

Aspire Tower looks set to be given the chance to be a Champion Hurdle horse next season. The Henry de Bromhead-trained gelding ended his campaign with second place in a dramatic renewal of the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham, going down by two and three-quarter lengths to Burning Victory having rallied bravely up the hill after Goshen unseated at the last with the race at his mercy. The Born To Sea gelding had won his first two starts over obstacles before falling when odds on at Leopardstown in February, and his trainer feels he still has room for improvement in the jumping department

Last year’s Champion Hurdle-winning trainer Gavin Cromwell believes big improver Darver Star has a lot of the attributes needed for the race he landed 12 months ago with the ill-fated Espoir D’Allen. This time last year Darver Star had yet to win over hurdles, but heads to Cheltenham having won four of his last six races and recorded a running-on second in the Irish Champion Hurdle, half a length behind Honeysuckle who runs in the Mares’ Hurdle. As a result he is now a shorter price in the betting than Espoir D’Allen was when he delivered Cromwell’s first Festival success in capturing the Champion Hurdle by 15 lengths at 16-1 for the widest winning margin in the race’s history. “In the real world if you’d said to me this time last year that Darver Star would be running at a Cheltenham Festival, I would say you were bonkers, let alone running in a Champion Hurdle with what I consider would be a good place chance,” said Cromwell. “He has improved 48lb from 104 to 152. He only ...

Henry de Bromhead has confirmed his unbeaten mare Honeysuckle will contest the Close Brothers Hurdle at next week's Cheltenham Festival, rather than the Unibet Champion Hurdle on the same afternoon. The Kenneth Alexander-owned six-year-old claimed her seventh victory from as many starts with a battling display in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown last month, after which connections were keen to keep their options open regarding her Festival target. Honeysuckle was as short as 4-1 to beat the boys in the Champion Hurdle next Tuesday.

Nicky Henderson insists Unibet Champion Hurdle favourite Epatante is on course for Cheltenham, despite giving her trainer some cause for concern earlier this week. The master of the powerful Seven Barrows stable was on hand at Newbury on Friday to see Monte Cristo successfully land odds-on favouritism in the three-runner Mansionbet Best Odds Guaranteed Juvenile Hurdle under Daryl Jacob. Afterwards, Henderson said: “I can tell you Epatante didn’t cough today. That is the official line today. “We are forced to say these things before somebody gets it out – and then it’s headline news. Unfortunately, we have to say it before it leaks out and it is drifting (in the market). You virtually have to let everyone know before she has even coughed! “But that’s what they are making you do. She has not coughed this morning and we are all on course.” Though a general 3-1 shot on Thursday morning before the yard informed the public via Twitter the mare had coughed, some firms pushed her ...

Nicky Henderson was thrilled with what he saw from Pentland Hills, Fusil Raffles and Verdana Blue as they continued their preparations for next month's Unibet Champion Hurdle with a racecourse gallop at Kempton. The three Cheltenham protagonists were among 13 horses sent to work at the Sunbury track on Tuesday morning in what has become an annual pre-Festival tradition for the Seven Barrows handler. Working over a lap and a half on the all-weather track, none of the trio passed the post at the front of their gallops, with Pentland Hills and Verdana Blue finishing second and third respectively behind Adjali in the first group and Fusil Raffles following home Birchdale in the third lot.

     CILAOS EMERY TO BE SUPPLEMENTED FOR THE 2020 CHAMPION HURDLE .                                          ANDREW NELIS RACING NEWS AND REVIEWS . The 8yr old had a relative  easy win in a hurdle race at the weekend at gowran pk in a Grade three Hurdle trial . The plan now is to supplement him costing £22,000 and have him line up for the champion on the first day !.  Its not the first time a horse has been supplanted at such a late stage for the competitive championship race on the first day , Annie power was supplemented a few years back and went on to win, also Nicky Henderson's  Bevuir dair also  from going from going as a hurdler to chasing then back to hurling when on to win back to back champion hurdles , so when you see a horse being supplemented in such a hot race , then you've got to believe , that their serious about their chance...

        CHAMPION HURDLE CONTENDER PPENTLAND HILLS                                                    ANDREW NELIS RACING NEWS AND REVIEWS .          Champion hurdle hope has had a minor wind op reports from its trainer Nicky Henderson . The 2019 Triumph hurdle winner didn't seem to be hitting top form as of late , the wind op is something they done , not because they were heating noise from the horse , but in the believe it may could help him in the future  .  He hasn't really followed up , since his win at Aintree at the end of last year ,  beaten a nose in his last  race  by BallyAndy   one thing I will say , and it's not to say that you can completely rule Pentland Hills out with champion hurdle glory ,  the last horse to win  the champion  was Katchit , s...

                   CHAMPION HURDLE REVIEWS                                                      ANDREW NELIS RACING NEWS Well what have we learned from the trials and tactics from this years major contenders, and other stragglers in the Cheltenham champion hurdle.  I think its puzzling in the sense that a few haven't really performed in each side of the Irish sea . Pentland Hills  may need a quicker pace and it will suit in the Adulations of the cotswold track . Now we have  had the withdrawals of both  saldier and klassical dream a horse who won at the festival in the supreme novice and going on to win at the punchestown festival at the end of last season . Watching the race that Honeysuckle  won finishing fast was  Darver star  ( gavin Cromwell ) who's horse Es...