Marten Julian’s Weekly Roundup 24 February 2025

Nick Luck is in a class of his own as a presenter but his interview with Nico de Boinville in his Sunday morning programme made for uncomfortable viewing.

Nick skilfully steered the conversation to calmer waters by asking his guest about his approach to work and family life, but not before an awkward exchange in relation to Nico’s probable Triumph Hurdle ride.

The jockey was not prepared to confirm he would be riding Lulamba rather than Palladium, which was not unreasonable given that with over two weeks to the race neither horse has yet had his final piece of work.

It was apparent that Nico had not yet discussed his decision with the owners, so he understandably deemed it inappropriate to disclose his preference to the viewing public.

Of more interest to me was his demeanour and response in relation to Constitution Hill. When asked why the horse was having a racecourse gallop, given Nicky Henderson’s original dismissal of that option, he said it was due to the manner in which the horse’s work had “evolved”.

This implied to me that the horse was not quite in the shape they would ideally like, and that what Nico described as an “awayday”, rather more than a public gallop, would sharpen him up.

Perhaps he has become lazy in his work. We know that when he first arrived in the yard he showed so little that Nicky rang Barry Geraghty, who sourced the horse, for assurances that he would be all right.

Even in these days of media friendly trainers I’ve never known anyone who appears on screen as much as Nicky Henderson. There will be things he would prefer not to talk about, but seeing the way he handled the Sir Gino setback … when he used the word “disappointed” in response to Nick Luck’s enquiry about the horse’s condition on that Sunday … reveals a deft touch in his handling of sensitive issues.

By contrast, without wishing to imply any form of chicanery, there was rather less transparency in the build-up to the victories of Great Attitude in the opening race at Fairyhouse on Saturday or Je Suis Sacre at Fontwell on Sunday.

The former, a six-year-old making his racecourse debut, started at 8/1 having been available at 200/1 earlier in the day. He is trained by Thomas Cleary for whom this was his first winner of the season from just three runners. One could only guess how much, or little, was accommodated at the fancy prices but the horse was still 25/1 half an hour before the race.

Great Attitude certainly knew his job, ridden prominently from flagfall, and connections are to be complimented for managing to keep his ability under wraps.

The case of Je Suis Sacre is rather different. Here was a horse who had been beaten an aggregate of 143 lengths in three maiden/novice events last season, in arrears throughout on each occasion.

There appeared to be support for him when he reappeared in December for his handicap debut off 83, but again he was always behind and finished last of nine, beaten 41 lengths.

He was again at the back next time in the fog at Wincanton and then at Fontwell on Sunday he appeared from a mark of 78, stepped up to an extended 2m 5f.

Available at 16/1 in the morning, he attracted sustained support right to the off, starting at 7/4. This time he was ridden up with the pace throughout and went clear two hurdles from home to win by 13 lengths.

Trainer Robert Walford attributed the improved form to the step up in trip and less competitive field.

The trainer could also have called upon the market support for the horse on his handicap debut here in December, but I have known occasions where connections have thrown money into the ring as a ploy to suggest stable confidence.

The main point here is that the riding tactics were so different. Despite the step up in trip, the horse was up in the front from the outset having never been in contention before.

These things take a long time to organise … Barney Curley thought nothing of waiting a couple of years … and Je Suis Sacre made his debut in December, 2023.

This was not an easy one to predict, especially given the proximity of his previous runs.

The new handicap rulings mean we are less likely to see many plots landed at Cheltenham.

Looking back to 40 years ago I recall the skill with which Willie Wumpkins was trained to win what is now the Pertemps Final three times at the age of 11, 12 and 13, ridden by permit-holder Jane Pilkington’s son-in-law Jim Wilson.

I’ll be back next week with more thoughts.

Bye for now

Why wait a week? Receive Marten’s free horse racing publication Weekly Roundup the day it is written in full for free every Monday evening by clicking here & signing up for our free Newsletter

© Copyright in all Marten Julian Publications is strictly reserved by the publishers. No material therein may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from Marten Julian.