Christmas Hurdle has crossed our minds for Sir Gino, admits Henderson

Nick Henderson has not ruled out the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park on Boxing Day as a comeback point for Sir Gino.

The unbeaten five-year-old stepped in to fill the role as super-sub in last season’s Fighting Fifth in the absence of Constitution Hill.

With his esteemed stablemate’s latest faux par at Newcastle, Henderson now has an opening on his team and given he was already considering running at meeting on his return from injury – albeit over fences – the race has now become a possibility.

When asked if the Christmas Hurdle was a possible destination for Sir Gino, Henderson told the Nick Luck Daily podcast: “It has crossed our minds over the weekend. I need a race for him around Christmas and I was thinking of the Desert Orchid Chase.

“We’re not making any targets for Sir Gino, but purely because I don’t want to have a deadline whereby we are aiming at something, we’re just going to let him tell us when he is ready rather than us force him.

“I won’t deny that it has crossed our minds that the obvious race to start him in over Christmas would be the Christmas Hurdle and if that was the case then it is possible, he’s not a novice anymore over fences.

“It would appear that if you went down the two-mile route you are looking at the Clarence House and the Champion Chase, which is one way, but on the other hand if you went the other way (hurdles) it would be a waste as he’s such a great jumper. It’s an idea, a possibility, but no more.”