"Buveur
D’Air" (CC
BY-SA 2.0) by Carine06
One of the endearing
qualities of jumps horse racing as opposed to the Flat is that
National Hunt horses go on for longer.
They really do become
public property and the Cheltenham Festival sees the same equine
stars turning up year after year. There were some high-profile
absentees from Britain’s premier jumps meeting in 2020, so will we
see familiar faces return perhaps for the last time next year?
The legendary Sea
Pigeon was the last 10-year-old to win the
Champion Hurdle way back in 1980. That is the size of the task
facing Buveur D’Air if he overcomes the gruesome injury suffered
during the 2019 Fighting Fifth at Newcastle and races again next
term.
While owner JP McManus
and trainer Nicky Henderson won the Champion Hurdle anyway this past
season with Epatante, Buveur D’Air has arguably been the leading
British hurdler of recent times. It is pretty late in his career to
spend time on the sidelines, but the freak
accident that saw a splinter from an obstacle sticking out of his
hoof is not necessarily the end.
Buveur D’Air owes
nobody – connections or punters – anything after many years of
loyal service at Seven Barrows. The comeback trail is tough and that
is reflected in his odds of 20/1 for the 2021 Champion Hurdle, but
Henderson has done it with other great horses in the yard.
Sprinter Sacre
immediately springs to mind, and that brings us on to another absent
friend from Cheltenham, in his fellow dual Queen Mother Champion
Chase hero Altior. Drama has followed this horse in some of his races
and during past preparation for previous Festivals.
Last-minute lameness
caused Altior to miss his tilt at a Champion Chase hat-trick. There
was no late reprieve or miracle poultice that could get him to the
track.
As the MansionBet
Cheltenham blog highlights, Henderson is the joint-most
successful trainer in Champion Chase history though, and Altior is
13/2 to regain his crown aged 11 next year. It’s not unheard of for
a horse in double figures to win this prestigious event at the
Festival either.
Sprinter Sacre regained
it aged 10 to much fanfare from an adoring Cheltenham crowd in 2016.
The following year, the ill-fated Special Tiara caused an upset when
he won it at the same point in his career.
Altior still showed plenty of ability, registering an easy third success in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury in February after losing his famous match with Cyrname over an extended two-and-a-half miles at Ascot. This is a four-time Cheltenham Festival winner we are talking about. Moscow Flyer regained the Champion Chase in 2005 at the age of 11, and another great Irish raider called Skymas doubled up in the race at 11 and 12. Recent trends show that younger horses landing the spoils are the exception rather than the rule. As with Buveur D’Air, there is no denying the fact that Altior is vulnerable to rivals with less wear and tear, but no racehorse has yet had the class to beat him over obstacles at two miles.
