Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival was a history maker as legendary trainer Nicky Henderson recorded his sixth victory in the great race, while equally famous o

wner, and punter, JP McManus reached the 50 Festival winner mark.

The six-year-old Buveur D’Air was supposed to be at the Festival as a novice chaser this year, but the ever shrewd Henderson changed his mind in January and his decision-making proved spot on once again as the bay stormed to a 4,5 length victory at odds of 5/1 to give jockey Noel Fehily his second Champion Hurdle victory.

Henderson is now the most successful trainer in the history of the Champion Hurdle, as well as being the Festival’s most successful trainer overall. McManus’s six victories in Britain’s most prestigious hurdle event is also a record.

Nicky Henderson (jpfestival.com)

McManus owned the horse regarded by many as the greatest hurdler of all time, the Aiden O’Brien-trained Istabraq, who won the Champion Hurdle three times in succession from 1998-2000.

McManus, who has a range of business interests, has always been a keen gambler too. He was a bookmaker at one stage, but gave up his license to concentrate on punting in 1982. Things didn’t initially go to plan and he needed his Edward O’Grady-trained Mister Donovan to win the Festival’s Sun Alliance Hurdle of that year.

McManus made a reported 250,000 pounds when the horse won at odds of 9-2 to give him his first Festival victory.

McManus admitted after Buveur D’Air’s victory on Tuesday he had lumped so much on Mister Donovan 35 years ago there might not have been a second Festival winner had the horse lost. McManus hired the most successful jockey in jumps history, Tony McCoy, for a reported one million pounds a year retainer in 2004. McCoy’s first Festival success in McManus’ famous green-and-gold hooped colours was on Reveillez in the Jewson’s Novice’s Handicap Chase in 2006.

The horse had opened at 6-1 and was backed into 9-2, including a bet of 100,000 pounds. “I couldn’t let him run loose at 6-1,” whispered McManus. Henderson has now trained 57 Cheltenham Festival winners. He surpassed Fulke Walwyn’s previous record of 40 five years ago.

His first Cheltenham winner was See You Then in the Champion Hurdle in 1985. This horse went on to win the Champion Hurdle three years in succession.

Henderson saddled seven winners at the Festival in 2012, a record which was surpassed by top Irish trainer Willie Mullins, who sent out 8 winners in 2015.

Henderson has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, with Long Run in 2011 and with Bobs Worth in 2013, while McManus has won the meeting’s flagship race only once, with the Jonjo O’Neill-trained Synchronised in 2012.

Henderson has no Gold Cup runners tomorrow, while McManus has two, the O’Neill-trained pair More Of That and Minella Rocco.

By David Thiselton

The entry cut off time for the R2 million Gr 1 SA Classic over 1800m to be run on April 1 at Turffontein was extended to 9am on Tuesday after only eight horses had initially been entered by 11am on Monday.

However, Western Cape-based Andre Nel was the only trainer to take advantage of the situation and entered two horses, Loadshedder and Kampala Campari, to increase the entry list to ten.

Andre Nel (Supplied)

The initial eight entries were from only four yards. Mike de Kock entered Gr 2 Betting World Gauteng Guineas winner Janoobi alongside Heavenly Blue and Alaadel.

National Champion trainer Sean Tarry had three entries, Al Sahem, Furiosa and Tilbury Fort. Johan Janse van Vuuren entered Crowd Please and Gary Alexander entered Unagi.

Nel has reportedly said Loadshedder would be unlikely to make the journey due to preferred targets in either Cape Town or Port Elizabeth.

He added about Querari colt Kampala Campari, who has only raced three times for two wins from 1200-1600m, ““He is a very nice horse. We’ve been planning this raid for a while and have brought horses up to Joburg twice in preparation for this trip north. Both were successful, with three of the five horses we floated up placing and two of the fillies just not acting in the soft going. I’m not scared, but it is daunting.”

Al Sahem and Heavenly Blue could be the pair to beat in the Classic.

Heavenly Blue finished third in the Gauteng Guineas, but will have come on from the run and will relish the step up in trip.

He has 1,5 lengths to make up on Janoobi, but the latter was at his peak for the Guineas and the 1800m trip will likely be at the upper end of his stamina range.

Al Sahem was unbeaten in two runs before finishing a 0,2 length second in the Gauteng Guineas. He is by Silvano out of Gr 2 winner Alderry, who won up to 1800m, so will enjoy the step up trip. Furthermore, he had an interrupted preparation into the Guineas due to the weather and is likely to have benefited from the run.

By David Thiselton

The Turffontein card tomorrow looks to be quite a tricky one, but the Pick 6 race in which punters can go thin looks to be the eighth, a MR 80 Handicap over 1160m.

Piere Strydom

Fieldmarshal Fenix and Refuge should dominate this race, although Spring Steel can’t be ignored either. Fieldmarshall Fenix, a four-year-old gelding by Brave Tin Soldier, wore blinkers last time out and he ran well below par. The blinkers are duly off again. Before that he finished second twice in succession to the progressive Just As I Said. The latter followed up with a fine run in a strong Pinnacle Stakes event before winning yet again. Fieldmarshal Fenix is in fact 3kg better off with the talented Spring Steel, despite having beaten the latter by 1,5 lengths the last time they met, which was in a race over tomorrow’s course and distance. He and Spring Steel were well clear of the rest in that aforementioned race, which is always the sign of good form.

The pair should be right up there in the finish again, but at the weights Fieldmarshal Fenix gets the vote. However, he can’t be confidently backed to win due to the presence of Refuge. Refuge met Fieldmarshal Fenix last July on the same terms as tomorrow, if apprentice claims are included, and lost by only a length. However, he was only a two-year-old then, so if weight for age is taken into account he is now effectively 5kg better off. On paper he should romp home, according to that piece of form. However, on the downside he is returning from a layoff of just over three months. Piere Strydom has duly taken the ride. Fieldmarshall Fenix and Refuge should be enough to get punters through the Pick 6, although Spring Steel could perhaps be included in lower cost Jackpots. Fieldmarshall Fenix appeals as a PA banker.

The best bet of the day comes in the first race, a Juvenile Maiden over 1400m for fillies. The R1,9 million purchase Rumbavar has caught the eye in two starts over 1000m at Kenilworth. She is a long-striding daughter of Var who will relish the step up in distance and she looks to possess considerable class, so is going to be hard to oppose. There are a few first-timers here and Aurelia Cotta and Think Twice make most appeal of them, but they would have to be smart to trouble Rumbavar, who looks likely to go off at cramped odds.

Hot Curry, who runs in the third race, is a Mike de Kock-trained stablemate of Rumbavar’s and has been chosen as the value bet on the day. It is seldom a horse who finished last in her previous start can be fancied next time out, but he ran in a strong maiden Juvenile Plate over 1000m at Kenilworth and was not at all disgraced. He will relish the step up in trip here and should be involved in the finish of a race where there are no stand out horses.

By David Thiselton

The race meeting on the Vaal Classic track on Tuesday afternoon was abandoned after the running of Race 4.

This was the first race meeting on the surface since it was closed last November for its annual maintenance programme, during which time the track’s drainage was enhanced.

Vaal

The first two races, both down the straight, went off flawlessly but concerns were raised after Race 3 over 1700m about inconsistencies in the going in some areas where the drainage had been enhanced.

A track inspection was held and in the interests of safety the distance of Race 5 was reduced from 2000m to 1700m.

After the running of Race 4 over 1700m, however, the jockeys expressed concerns about the safety of the track around the turn.

It was then mooted to switch the remaining races round the turn to the Outside Track using bollards to demarcate the inside of the straight 1600m course. After due consideration this was deemed unsafe.

The only alternative was to move the running rail from the Classic Track to the Outside Track, which had not been prepared for racing. But despite every effort it was found it would take too long to remove and re-install the running rail. Consequently there was no option but to abandon the meeting.

The state of the track will be reviewed by the track management team tomorrow (Wednesday) and any shortcomings in the surface will be remedied as quickly as possible.

According to the ruling that at least two legs of any Exotic bet must to run to effect a payment, a dividend for both the BiPot and Place Accumulator was declared. The BiPot paid out R2.20 and the Place Accumulator R1.20.

All Pick 6 and Jackpot bets will be refunded.

By Phumelela

It was no surprise to see the Geoff Woodruff-trained Bi Pot entered in the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic after her impressive win on Saturday in a MR 82 Handicap for three-year-old fillies over 1600m at Turffontein. The Judpot filly will be coming in under the radar so might offer some fair value in the race which is to be run on April 1.

Geoff Woodruff (Nkosi Hlophe)

Woodruff had two runners in last year’s SA Fillies Classic, including Bi Pot’s half-sister Alexa, and they  both finished unplaced. However, Bi Pot, looks to have more scope than Alexa did. Furthermore her relatively young sire Judpot has an outstanding record at the Classic meeting.

Last year Judpot’s daughter Juxtapose won the SA Fillies Classic and two years earlier his daughter Along Came Polly was runner up in this lucrative race. In 2014 the Judpot colt Mister Cricket finished second in the SA Classic to triple crown hero Louis The King. A year later another Judpot colt, Deputy Jud, finished third in the SA Classic. Bi Pot is a long-striding bay and has won two of her four starts to date. Woodruff is sure to have her tuned up as a trainer whose string always peak for the Autumn classics and she has a plum draw of five.

There were 16 entries in the SA Fillies Classic and the favourite will undoubtedly be the Sean Tarry-trained Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas winner Smiling Blue Eyes. This grey Dynasty filly also won the Gr 3 Fillies Mile. However, she is out of a Badger Land mare and has won over 2000m before, so will have no problem with the 1800m trip, especially from a good draw of 7. She looks to be a genuine Triple Tiara candidate.

Bela-Bela (Nkosi Hlophe)

Her stablemate Safe Harbour went close in the Gr 1 Maine Chance Paddock Stakes over this trip, losing narrowly to the champion filly Bela-Bela, so has a chance in the SA Fillies Classic. She needed her last run in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas, so her unplaced effort there can’t be taken literally. However, she did have a tough campaign in Cape Town and Smiling Blue Eyes will be fresher.

Al Hawraa was running on well when runner up in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas and on that evidence looks likely to stay the SA Fillies Classic trip. She has drawn in pole position. The third fourth and fifth placed horses in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas, Orchid Island, Babbling Brooke and Belle Rose, will all appreciate the step up in trip.

An interesting raider is the Joey Ramsden-trained Captain Gambler, who was third against the boys in the Gr 1 Investec cape Derby. Those look to be the main players, although the enigmatic Judpot filly Maleficent has the ability to be a player too and on pedigree should stay the trip being a full-sister to the SA Derby runner up Rocketball.

By David Thiselton