Legendary Lambourn trainer Henderson looks to add to his 72 winners at Cheltenham Festival
Six-time champion Jumps trainer Nicky Henderson is targetting yet more success at next week's Cheltenham Festival.
The Lambourn handler trains some of the best horses heading to the Festival, including odds-on Champion Hurdle favourite Constitution Hill, but, as the veteran trainer explained while trudging through the snow following a bitter morning out on the gallops, the week leading up to Cheltenham is a tense and nerve-racking time for him and the team at Seven Barrows.
"It's a bit like trying to get 150 schoolchildren to school on time, you're never going to get them all there," Henderson said.
"The weather's made things more challenging but we're in a good position, all the horses have been out and they're all looking good."
Henderson, who has trained 72 winners at the world famous Festival, said Constitution Hill, who has won all of his six starts so far, winning by 17 lengths last time out at Kempton, is in great condition as he looks to land the trainer his ninth Champion Hurdle.
"He's a superstar," he said.
"A lot of hard work has gone into getting him to this point and we're almost there now, then he's got to go out and live up to his billing.
"He's such a relaxed horse with a great temperament and nothing phases him, he's been out on the gallops this morning and I expect he'll go and have a lie down now, that's what he's like."
Henderson also trains Epatante, the 2020 Champion Hurdle winner and one of the favourites for this year's Mares Hurdle, as well as Marie's Rock, who has entries in both the Mares and Stayers races.
He said: "Epatante's worked very well, the Mares is a really competitive race but we like her chances.
"I'd like to move Marie's Rock up to three miles, she improved so much when she went up from two to two-and-a-half but we'll see."
Meanwhile, Jonbon, who struggled despite winning when last seen at Warwick, is set to do battle with the Willie Mullins-trained El Fabiolo in the Arkle and Henderson reckons it'll be "a great race, with not much in it."
