Nicky Henderson: “We’d love to qualify for the Pertemps and then give him a break”

CHELTENHAM – FRIDAY

4:15 Captain Morgs (Nico de Boinville)

He’s been in a while so is ready to go and he’s a horse we’ve always liked him. He’s not a giant of a horse so we don’t necessarily have to go chasing straight away, although he will be jumping the big ones in the future, but he’s a very versatile person and I still think there could be some unfinished business over hurdles. He’s one of the first proper winter horse to run so we’ll get a better idea as to how fit they all actually are, but he’s been in good form at home and this looks a good starting point. A stiff two and a half miles on good ground is just what he wants and he goes there with a very realistic chance.

CHELTENHAM – SATURDAY

4:05 Haul Away (Nico de Boinville)

He showed a fantastic attitude to win over fences at Warwick last time in a race that has worked out well because the runner up has since gone on to go score at Carlisle. To be honest he’s been a very good, fun summer horse and will be having a break after this, but three miles on good ground is exactly what he wants so we thought we might as well have one last roll of the dice. We obviously have an eye on the Pertemps Final in the spring so he’d need to finish in the first six to get qualified and then he can have a well deserved break.

5:15 Swapped (Nico de Boinville)

He was entered to run at Worcester on Wednesday but his owner wouldn’t have been able to see him which is the sole reason he’s running in this much better race at Cheltenham. He’s the only unraced horse in the field but he’s shown plenty of ability at home and while we haven’t managed to get him on the grass so far this season, he worked well on it last year and is a horse with a very bright future. I’m not saying by any means he’ll win this but I’ll be disappointing if he isn’t capable of making his presence felt.