Henderson Still Looking For Grand National Win
He is one of the UK’s most successful horse trainers, having won the Trainer Championship a staggering six times but one thing is still missing from Nicky Henderson’s list of triumphs and that is a Grand National win.
With a career spanning four decades, that has brought him over 3000 winners, surprisingly the Grand National is the one trophy missing from Henderson’s ever-expanding collection.
Despite 73 Cheltenham Festival wins and notching up in excess of £11.2m in earnings over the last five seasons, it would seem that the job will never be fully complete until Henderson bags that elusive Grand National win.
Nicky Henderson National Runners
The Seven Barrows trainer had his first runner in the Aintree showpiece in 1979. He saddled Zongalero who finished in second place, but 42 years later that remains his best-ever finish in the race. Though his 1987 runner, The Tsarevich, also finished second.
By the time the 2017 race rolled around, Cocktails At Dawn, ridden by Nico De Boinville was his only runner. Unfortunately, it was also the first to bow out of the race when falling at the first fence.
2018 was a non-starter as Henderson didn’t have any runners so it was everything to play for again in 2019. Valtor was his only runner, going off at odds of 66/1, again with De Boinville on board. He did make it around but in 18th place.
We all know that 2020 was a dismal year for the sport with most of it being cancelled, including the Grand National. So with the 2021 Grand National came high expectations.
Henderson’s 2021 High Hopes
Not one to lament his lack of success in the race, Henderson approached the 2021 race with his usual optimism.
At the time he said: “I’ve gone for the scattergun approach this year!
“The two that are most likely to go for the race are Beware The Bear and OK Corral, though Pym is another possible.
“I’m not saying I would retire on the spot if I won it, as I wouldn’t, but it would be awfully nice to win the race.”
In fact, he ended up with six entries. They included Santini, second place in the 2020 Gold Cup and OK Corral, who won the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster just over a year ago.
Beware The Bear, Gold Present, Pym and Valtor rounded off his six entries. However, by race day only OK Corral was left to fly the Henderson flag in the National.
Going off on odds of 80/1 with Derek O’Connor on board, it was not to be for connections as OK Corral pulled up at fence 21.
2022 Grand National Henderson Runner
It was quite a surprise that Nicky Henderson only had ONE entry for the 2022 Grand National.
That was Caribean Boy (50/1) for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede. On paper the eight-year-old didn’t look like a runner that could genuinely challenge for the win, having never even attempted a race beyond three miles.
However, Henderson believed that the horse was capable and thought Caribean Boy was in with a shout. As a grey horse, he had plenty of fans but the reality was that if you run three races back to back, fall in one and pull up in another, it’s going to put the punters off.
So with only one chance to win in 2022, Henderson wanted to end his Grand National hoodoo and pull a winner out of the bag.
The problem was that Caribean Boy was then withdrawn before the race so Henderson ended up with no runners.
Can Nicky Henderson Win In 2023?
That brings us nicely to the 2023 Grand National where once again Nicky Henderson has only entered one runner in the race.
This time it is Mister Coffey, an eight-year-old chaser who has yet to win a race. Speaking to The Telegraph Henderson said “We ran him in the Topham last year and he enjoyed jumping round there then.
“He’s in good form and ran a very good race at Cheltenham in the National Hunt Chase.
“He’s been placed in everything you can throw at him. He can’t win anything but that’s a bit like me in the National!
“He’s perfectly capable of it and it’s nice to be going in there with a horse who has a chance.”
But even Henderson himself has admitted that time is running out to find that elusive winner.
“This race is unique. It’s a completely different game. It would be a pity not to find one someday – but the clock is ticking.”
BET £20 AND GET IT BACK AS CASH IF IT LOSES
NEW CUSTOMER OFFER
New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any market at odds of min 2.0 (EVS) and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £20. Only deposits made using cards will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply. 18+ begambleaware.org. #ad. Please bet responsibly.
