Nicky-Henderson on The Race Lab

Henderson's Supreme Factory: 61 Grade 1 Wins and Counting

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Idaho Sun’s withdrawal from Tuesday’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle grabbed the headlines this week. A Grade 1 winner ruled out with lameness four days before the Festival — rotten luck for Harry Fry and connections.

But if you’re looking at who benefits most, the answer isn’t complicated. Nicky Henderson’s Old Park Star was already 9/4 favourite. Now the path looks even cleaner. And when Henderson targets this race, the alumni list reads like a Hall of Fame.

Constitution Hill Wins at Southwell: The Data Behind a Remarkable Reinvention

Sat, 21 Feb 2026 17:00:00 +0000

We wrote yesterday’s preview suggesting Constitution Hill’s Flat switch looked more like a desperate measure than an exhibition. We were wrong about the desperation part. Nothing about Friday night looked desperate.

Nine and a half lengths. Oisin Murphy sat motionless. The in-race comment from SmartForm reads like a horse operating in a different postcode to his rivals: “travelled strongly, midfield, smooth headway 2f out, soon ridden to lead, went clear approaching final furlong, stayed on well, impressive.”

Constitution Hill's Flat Debut: What the Numbers Say About Tonight's Southwell Novice

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:00:00 +0000

A horse rated 175 over hurdles, running in a novice stakes at Southwell on a Friday evening. If you’d pitched this storyline two years ago, you’d have been laughed out of the room.

Constitution Hill — twice Champion Hurdle winner, owner of a Cheltenham performance so devastating they called it the best since Istabraq — lines up tonight at 7:30 in a 12-runner novice on the Fibresand. He’s 11/4 second favourite behind the Kevin de Foy-trained Square Necker at 13/8.

The Numbers That Explain Why Jonbon Should Swerve the Champion Chase

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Here’s a stat that should settle the Jonbon debate once and for all.

At two miles and below over fences, Jonbon’s record reads 14 wins from 21 completed starts — a 67% strike rate. Excellent, but not flawless. At two miles and four furlongs or beyond? Three runs, three wins. Perfect.

Now consider this: at Cheltenham, across all distances, he’s 0 from 5.

Put those two numbers together and the conclusion is obvious. The Ryanair Chase, run over two miles and four furlongs at the Festival on Thursday March 12, isn’t just a viable alternative to the Champion Chase. It might be his best chance of finally winning at Prestbury Park.

Jonbon's 12th Grade One: Only Kauto Star Stands Above Him Over Fences

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Jonbon broke hearts on Valentine’s Day — specifically, Pic D’Orhy’s.

The pair jumped the last together in the Ascot Chase, and for a stride or two Harry Cobden’s drive on the defending champion looked like it might be enough. It wasn’t. Nico de Boinville dug deep on the 4-9 favourite and Jonbon pulled clear to win by a length and a half, clinching a 12th Grade One victory over fences.

Constitution Hill's Champion Hurdle Gamble: The Numbers Behind Henderson's Biggest Risk

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:15:00 +0000

The speculation has reached fever pitch. Will Constitution Hill line up in the Unibet Champion Hurdle? Nicky Henderson’s nine-year-old superstar is pencilled in for a Flat race at Southwell on February 20 — a “glorified bumper” as Charlie Johnston described it — with the Cheltenham Festival potentially following three weeks later.

Ben Pauling, Henderson’s assistant, stoked the flames on Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday: “I would [run him in the Champion Hurdle]. He’s just so talented, and he’s got so much left to give.”

Lulamba Joins Elite Company: Can He Follow the Game Spirit-Arkle Trail?

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 06:30:00 +0000

Lulamba didn’t so much win the Game Spirit Chase as survive it. For three-quarters of the race at Newbury on Saturday, Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten novice looked anything but a 11/8 Arkle favourite. He was off the bridle early, not entirely foot perfect at his fences, and turning in you could have got decent odds about him seeing it out.

Then, between the third and second last, Nico De Boinville squeezed and Lulamba responded like a proper racehorse. The acceleration was instant, the jumps at the final two fences assured, and the six-and-a-half-length margin over Saint Segal at the line barely reflected his superiority.

Lulamba Follows Altior's Path: Does the Game Spirit-Arkle Double Still Work?

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Lulamba kept his unbeaten record over fences intact with a six-and-a-half length win in the William Hill Game Spirit Chase at Newbury on Saturday, but it was the way he won that caught the eye — and the way he matches a pattern that has produced two of the greatest two-mile chasers of the modern era.

Nico de Boinville’s mount was giving weight to seasoned handicappers, jumped sketchily at times on the heavy ground, and was even off the bridle turning in. Yet when the serious business started between the third and second last, he found lengths his rivals simply couldn’t match. The market has reacted accordingly: Lulamba is now 11/8 favourite for the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival.