Henderson wary of testing ground for ‘Ferrari’ Sir Gino

Testing conditions are Nicky Henderson’s biggest concern ahead of Sir Gino’s high-profile clash with The New Lion in Saturday’s Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham.

What happens in the Grade Two contest is going to have a major impact on the ante-post betting for the Champion Hurdle back at Prestbury Park in early March, with Sir Gino the 5-4 favourite and Dan Skelton’s The New Lion next best at 4-1 as things stand.

The unbeaten Sir Gino was brilliant in making a successful return from a year off the track in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day, but Henderson is concerned about giving his six-year-old an overly-hard race at this stage of his preparation.

“We could have done without the rain and Ferraris probably don’t work in a muddy field. It might not be that, but it might be hard work tomorrow,” the Seven Barrows handler said at Warwick on Friday.

“We want the trials and they are an important part of the build up to March, but we also don’t want desperately hard races in very bad ground.

“Everyone is probably quite twitchy at the moment and nobody really wants to see horses walking up the hill at Cheltenham as that is not a good preparation two months before the Festival.”

With just four runners declared, and Sir Gino and The New Lion clear of Nemean Lion and Brentford Hope on ratings, there is every chance the two-mile-one-furlong contest could turn into a tactical affair.

Henderson is not ruling out the possibility of his charge going straight into the lead, adding: “He made the running in the Christmas Hurdle because he was too fresh and nobody wanted to go on and it left him in front. He didn’t mind though and he also made it when he won the Desert Orchid over fences.”

The New Lion was imperious as a novice last season, but fell two from home on his reappearance in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle in November.

While Skelton respects the threat posed by Sir Gino this weekend, he admits his JP McManus-owned runner does at least need to make a race of it if he is to keep his Champion Hurdle dream alive.

“We’re taking on a horse that won the Christmas Hurdle very authoritatively and we fell, so there’s a difference in last-time-out performances, but I’m very happy with our horse,” said the Alcester handler.

“We’ve done lots of jumping (since Newcastle), I think the track’s a suitable track for him and I’m looking forward to it, we’re very excited.

“Slower ground and a bit more of a galloping track will suit. I haven’t had a runner in the Fighting Fifth when I’ve been there and I was surprised how fast they go around Newcastle.

“We handled that speed and I’m not afraid of that speed, but I think it will be much more suitable for him on Saturday.

“It’s the next step and we’re only just out of novices and I feel like there’s more to come, but ultimately we do have to have a sharp run.

“If we get beat, we can’t be getting beat by too far.”