Last weekend, The Wine Tipster, continued his magnificent form with another 4 winners. There were 3 winners at Cheltenham with Taquin Du Seuil, winning The Bet Victor feature race on Saturday Moon Racer and Fox Norton on Sunday in addition to Wells du Lune at Wetherby.
It was also a significant and emotional weekend for trainer Nicky Henderson. On the positive side, Sprinter Sacre was paraded at the racecourse on his retirement. This finest of all two-mile chasers has achieved the unthinkable, with Henderson planning it all every step of the way, nurturing him back to fitness. The 10-year-old banked more than £1.1m from 18 wins, nine at the Grade 1 level which includes a rare hat trick of success at all three of the major spring festivals – Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown in 2013. With Nicky Henderson as a patron, let’s hope that Sprinter Sacre will soon be playing a role at horse racing charity, Greatwood.
Sadly, Remembrance Sunday this year will probably remain in Nicky Henderson’s memory as the day that Simonsig had to be put down after breaking his leg. The 10 year old grey sustained the injury as he fell at the third fence during the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham on Sunday. Simonsig won 8 races from 13 starts despite being plagued with injury throughout his career.
The Wine Tipster will be at Haydock this Saturday at the Betfair Chase, a fascinating clash between Coneygree and Cue Card.