Nicky Henderson indicates Ryanair Chase likely Cheltenham target for Shishkin

Irish-trained horses swept the board of last year’s championship events at the Cheltenham festival although Nicky Henderson appears intent on preventing a similar feat this time.

The leading cross-channel trainer has the home side’s ace in the red-hot Champion Hurdle favourite Constitution Hill.

On Saturday Henderson also saw a rejuvenated Shishkin land the Ascot Chase in resounding style to put himself on top of the Ryanair Chase betting.

Stong indication

The horse also holds a Gold Cup entry and Willie Mullins, who trains the Blue Riband favourite Galopin Des Champs, wasn’t alone in acclaiming Shishkin’s weekend display as a “huge performance.”

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Henderson gave a strong indication on Sunday however that the Ryanair remains his most likely target.

“I can’t think we’re not going to go for the Ryanair, but there is no way of finding out,” said Henderson.

“The way I would see it, in the perfect, perfect world — and with horses it is not easy to go very far, about 24 hours is about as far as you dare look ahead — but in the perfect world, you’d go Ryanair, then three miles at Aintree.

“Then that will tell us what to do next year. It would tell you whether to go to the Betfair Chase or King George VI Chase, or stay at 2½ [miles]. At 2½ you are a bit limited, he added.

Shishkin completed a remarkable return to the top flight at Ascot having spectacularly failed to fire in last season’s Champion Chase at Cheltenham, after which he was diagnosed with a rare bone condition.

On the back of a relatively lack-lustre return to action in December’s Tingle Creek, he underwent a procedure for a flipped palate before getting stepped up in trip on Saturday.

The outcome was enough to catapult him to the top of the Ryanair betting and he is also as low as 8-1 for the Gold Cup in some ante-post lists.

“The Ryanair is still a very high-class race and it is not to be sniffed at. He’s certainly not going to come back to two [miles], so I can’t believe we need to go to 3¼ [miles],” said Henderson.

“Going up in trip made an enormous difference. It was as simple as that. Maybe he would stay 3¼, but you have got the Ryanair available to you.

“One is aware Allaho is not there, but we won’t go there because of that. I would have thought we would still have gone that route even if he was there. It is the obvious thing to do. We’re delighted with him and he’s absolutely 100 per cent this morning,” added the English handler.

Hot favourites

The boost to cross-channel morale ahead of the Cheltenham meant Coral went 14-1 about another Irish clean sweep of the main festival events — Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers Hurdle, Ryanair and Gold Cup — this time.

“The outlook looks much less one-sided heading into next month’s meeting, with Nicky Henderson responsible for two hot favourites in Constitution Hill and Shishkin, and Edwardstone sharing Champion Chase favouritism with Energumene.

“The Irish do have a virtual monopoly on the Stayers’ Hurdle betting, and Galopin Des Champs is clear market leader for the Gold Cup, but our odds suggest the home team should have something to celebrate this time around,” said a spokesman.

Willie Mullins will be without the 2021 and 2022 winner Allaho in the Ryanair this time but unearthed a new contender on Saturday when Janidil made a winning first start of the season in Gowran’s Red Mills Chase.