Former Champion Trainer Nicky Henderson has won just about every major jumps race in the UK, barring the Grand National at Aintree. The Seven Barrows man does not have a great record in the world’s most famous steeplechase, but he’ll be hoping to put that straight this year.
Remarkably, the best Henderson has done in the Grand National is second place, which came with his first-ever runner in the race in 1979 with Zongalero. But, his luck may change and here is a look at his two entries in 2022.
Chantry House
Henderson’s best chance of winning the Grand National this year appears to be with Chantry House. The former Grade One-winning chaser is one of the highest-rated horses in the field. He is as short as 25/1 to prevail in the marathon contest.
Before he commits his runners for the three-day meeting at Aintree, Henderson will be focussing on the Cheltenham Festival. As you can read in the Cheltenham latest news, he has been involved in mind games with fellow leading trainer Willie Mullins. Chantry House is set to be one of Henderson’s big hopes for Cheltenham in the Gold Cup and will come up against Mullins’ two-time Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo.
With six wins from eight starts, Chantry House has an excellent record over fences. His latest victory came in the Grade Two Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham. The eight-year-old bounced back from a below-par performance in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
Henderson’s talented runner has yet to feature around the Grand National Course. However, he did win a novice chase contest at the meeting in 2021, capping off an excellent opening season as a chaser. If he stays the distance at Aintree, he will have a great chance of providing Henderson with a memorable win.
Caribean Boy
Henderson’s second runner in the Grand National this year is set to be Caribean Boy. He is much further down the weights than Chantry House, as he has been handed an allocation of 10st 6lb. The three-time chase winner is guaranteed a run in the race, if his connections decide to roll the dice, as he is 32nd in the current list of entries.
Caribean Boy began his season at Cheltenham. His biggest success over fences so far came in a Grade Two contest at Newbury in his novice campaign. He has been victorious in just one of his four appearances this season, that was when he landed a handicap chase at Kempton on his penultimate outing.
Henderson’s chaser ran over the Grand National fences in the 2021 Topham Handicap Chase. He made a bad mistake at the 11th obstacle, which resulted in jockey Daryl Jacob pulling up the horse not long after.
Caribean Boy is generally a 50/1 shot for the Aintree feature in April. His connections will be hoping he can take advantage of his low position in the weights. He does not have an entry at the Cheltenham Festival, so he should be pretty fresh when he lines up in Liverpool for the biggest race of his career.
The Grand National could help determine who wins the Trainers’ Championship this season. Victory for Henderson may be enough for him to leapfrog Paul Nicholls and Dan Skelton in the standings.
