Nicky Henderson: “Kempton is the likely next stop but it depends on Altior”

I AM pleased to report that Altior is absolutely fine this morning after his gallant run in defeat at Ascot yesterday and has eaten everything put out in front of him; he also trotted up completely sound which is the main thing.

Altior absolutely fine this morning. A further update will follow very shortly. pic.twitter.com/XFWRDavX64

— Nicky Henderson (@sevenbarrows) November 24, 2019

I have no doubt he got the trip but on that ground it was ultimately match race fitness that took its toll as he’d had no ‘away days’ or racecourse gallops so I’d like to think he will improve for the run anyway.

Without looking for excuses, I don’t really think he travelled with his usual zest and to be honest I thought Nico would have trouble holding him, therefore I suspect the ground does have something to do with it but we’ll get him fully checked over tomorrow morning, purely as a precautionary measure, and evaluate the situation after that. He did his level best, as always, but, as I feared would have to happen one day, he got beaten by a better horse on the day, and that’s what horse racing is all about. Take nothing away from Cyrname, he is a very talented animal and deserves the plaudits he gets.

I’ve just had a long chat with Pat Pugh and she’s great about the whole thing; very philosophical as always, and we’re certainly not ruling anything in or out. Where we go next I don’t know, but I definitely wouldn’t rule out the King George as that has always been the long term plan, although if it is really heavy ground perhaps we would have to reconsider but I’d have no qualms about taking on Cyrname again. I’d say Kempton is the most likely next stop if he’s fit and well but it all depends on how long it takes to get over this; if it’s two months, then that’s how long it will take. He puts a lot into his races, literally his heart and soul, which is why he’s so good so he’ll be given as much time as is required.

Down but not out

The 19 win sequence Altior achieved was an incredible feat and he is still a Champ pic.twitter.com/8sXJpN7ygr

— Unibet Racing (@UnibetRacing) November 23, 2019

You never want to give horses a hard race on their first run back and we were sort of using it as a preparation for something else whereas I think Cyrname was fully tuned up for his reappearance but there was no way I could have ducked out of the race on account of the ground because it had had such a huge build up for so long and I’d have looked pretty silly if we’d swerved it as that’s no good to anyone.

The main thing is that he is absolutely A1 this morning and lives to fight another day!

Nicky