Sprinter Sacre Recaptures His Crown

Many long-held dreams are shattered on Cheltenham's hallowed turf during jump racing's celebrated extravaganza, but occasionally the most audacious hope becomes extraordinary reality.

The recrowning of Sprinter Sacre (Fr) (Network {Ger}) in the G1 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase three years after he last reigned supreme at Prestbury Park provided just such an occasion and one which, just 24 hours after Annie Power's Champion Hurdle victory, once again had the packed, tiered backdrop to the winner's enclosure crackling with emotion.

The giant 10-year-old spent several seasons when the only question he raised was how far he'd win by, and he came to Cheltenham this time around as the winner of 16 of his 22 races, but that statistic tells only part of the story. Since his glorious unbeaten season of 2012-13, in which he won five Grade 1 races, the question became whether he would ever return to his best after his diagnosis of an irregular heartbeat on his first uncompleted race in December 2013.

“We dared to think that he could do it again but I think we're all still a bit fazed by this,” said Nicky Henderson, the most successful trainer of all time at the Cheltenham Festival who was nevertheless brought to the verge of tears by his star chaser's dramatic return.

Henderson continued, “There was a time when it all looked so easy for him but this time he had to go out and prove himself again. But I know he wanted to do it. That is part of his whole make-up–he's a real showman.”

And what a show he put on for the Cheltenham faithful. Following two confidence-restoring wins in small-field Grade 2 events this season, Sprinter Sacre bounced out from an 80-day hiatus to be sent-off second favourite behind the young pretender of the two-mile chasing division and last year's G1 Arkle Chase winner, Un De Sceaux (Fr) (Denham Red {Fr}). With Special Tiara (GB) (Kayf Tara {GB}) taking up the early running and ensuring a fierce pace from the off, Sprinter Sacre tucked in behind as Un De Sceaux fought Ruby Walsh for his head and took advantage of a mistake by Special Tiara to grab the lead for himself at the fourth fence.

Apparently going easiest of all with Walsh hunched immobile over his withers, Un De Sceaux was still being stalked by the former champion, whose rider Nico de Boinville made an assured surge for glory with two fences left to jump. Nudged on to join the leader, Sprinter Sacre quickly overshadowed his rival to storm the hill out in front once more. Whether or not he is quite the imperious beast he once was, when he put 19 lengths on his pursuers in the same race back in 2013, the manner of his triumph in his fifth appearance at the Festival is an irrelevance to those who shouted themselves hoarse in acclamation of his return to champion status.

“A split came between Un De Sceaux and Special Tiara and I thought, 'let's see what you've got',” said de Boinville, who has ridden Sprinter Sacre on a daily basis at Henderson's since the start of the gelding's career. The 26-year-old jockey first came to wider prominence this time last year when partnering the novice Coneygree (GB) (Karinga Bay {GB}) to a sensational victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

He continued, “When he got to the other horse's girth he just found another gear. Half the time with him it's about keeping a lid on his exuberance.”

The modestly eloquent de Boinville, who won Tuesday's G1 Supreme Novices' Hurdle for his boss Henderson aboard Altior (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) but has only taken over as regular race-partner of Sprinter Sacre since Barry Geraghty signed a retainer with major owner JP McManus, rides with an icy calm which belies his relative inexperience in the major races.

“I'm in turmoil inside,” he confessed, savouring the emotional high the sport can bring just weeks after the tragic personal low of his mother's death. “I wasn't confident three out but when we got to the back of Un De Sceaux I started to think we had a chance and after that he just took off. I'm very aware that Barry [Geraghty] is back in the weighing-room and he's done so much to help me along the way. I'm very grateful to him.”

Henderson, however, was quick to emphasise de Boinville's role in Sprinter Sacre's success, saying, “Nico has been important in the horse's whole life not just today but also in the early days when he schooled him and he deserves every accolade he gets.”

Referring to Sprinter Sacre's victory as “a resurrection,” the trainer added, “This horse has got that charisma which makes what has happened so special. He built his own atmosphere here today. It was Sprinter's own way of saying thank you. I must say thank you to a very special horse as he is just brilliant. To have those two golden years when he was unbeaten was incredible. I always said I didn't think he'd get back there but maybe he has.”

For lovers of jump racing, the chance to worship their equine heroes season after season is one of the major draws of the winter game. Few steeplechasers of the modern era have been so adored as Sprinter Sacre, the poster boy of the French AQPS breeding ranks with the looks and swagger to match his abundant talent. The natural showman is back where he belongs, as the headline act on jumping's main stage.

Twiston Shouts Home A Grade 1 Double…

Though Nicky Henderson took the day's feature race and Willie Mullins bagged yet another Grade 1 with the victory of Yorkhill (Ire) (Presenting {GB}) in the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle, Nigel Twiston-Davies ensured that the big guns didn't have it all their own way. The trainer, whose stable is just a few miles from jump racing's headquarters, snared a Grade 1 brace of his own courtesy of the RSA Chase triumph of Blaklion (GB), followed by the Weatherbys Champion Bumper win of Ballyandy (GB).

Both geldings are by Overbury Stud resident Kayf Tara (GB), Godolphin's former flat staying star who has been Britain's leading National Hunt sire for six seasons and is flying high in third place in the combined British and Irish championship for 2015/16.

Blaklion and Ballyandy became the seventh and eighth Grade 1 winners for the 22-year-old son of Sadler's Wells, who has also been represented by top-level victors Thistlecrack (GB), Identity Thief (GB) and Tea For Two (GB) in a breakthrough season.

With the number of purpose-bred jumps foals in Ireland standing at 2,689 compared to 596 in Britain in 2015, the British-based National Hunt sires are up against it when it comes to attracting a decent number of mares each year. Kayf Tara, who has remained in Sheikh Mohammed's ownership in England despite some tempting offers from Irish studs, has steadily bucked this trend and is now regularly patronised by breeders on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Thistlecrack's Sister in Festival Sale…

Thursday's action at Cheltenham will be followed by the third edition of the Festival Sale, hosted for the first time by Tattersalls Ireland since its takeover of Brightwells.

Twenty-four lots will go under the hammer from 6.15 p.m. in the parade ring and they include lot 5, a 3-year-old full-sister to Thistlecrack (GB) (Kayf Tara {GB}), the red-hot favourite for today's G1 Ryanair World Hurdle.

Following Annie Power (Ire)'s exploits in Tuesday's G1 Champion Hurdle, extra attention may well be paid to the first horse through the ring, Lady Beaufort (GB), who is also a chestnut daughter of Shirocco (Ger). The 5-year-old won her sole start in a bumper at Kelso last month for trainer John Quinn.