Nicky Henderson's weekend team impress in midweek work
Our gallops reporter has been to Seven Barrows to see Sprinter Sacre and the rest of Nicky Henderson's Saturday team.
By Gallops Reporter
Last Updated: 16/01/13 2:01pm
Nicky Henderson has been putting the finishing touches to the big race preparation of SPRINTER SACRE who, after schooling beautifully last week, looked in pristine condition cantering up the all-weather strip at Seven Barrows.
The gelding, unbeaten over fences and possibly unlucky to be undefeated in his career, is unbackable for the Victor Chandler Chase with the sponsors making him 1-6 for their flagship race at Ascot on Saturday.
Sprinter Sacre, who Henderson acquired through a batch of horses that agent David Minton picked-up in France, is carrying the mantle of jumping's equivalent to Frankel, and is expected to summarily dismiss the challenges of the handful of rivals that will oppose him in the £105,000 contest.
PETIT ROBIN has been an unexpected money-spinner for the yard after reverting to handicap hurdles this season.
He won twice and was only just run out of it in the valuable Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot's Christmas meeting.
After working satisfactorily the 10-year-old could return there for the limited handicap hurdle, although he has paid a price for his success and LYVIUS, who finished well adrift of him last time, could make much more of a race of it if he turns out.
WHISPER got the job done well enough on his return to action and debut over jumps at Ffos Las, the racecourse owned by his owner Dai Walters.
The five-year-old has done everything right since then and could return to the track for the long distance novices' hurdle.
RIVER MAIGUE seems to have taken his recent facile success in his stride and this willing worker looked in good heart doing a half-speed prep for a possible visit to Haydock for the Rossington Main Hurdle, a race Henderson has subscribed to on several occasions.