Frightening…Extraordinary…Sprinter Sacre

In what could be another phenomenal season for Nicky Henderson, he need look no further for a superstar than last term’s Arkle conqueror, Sprinter Sacre. This French bred gelding was foaled way back in 2006, and experienced somewhat up-and-down form, before exploding onto the scene as a real star in 2011/12, when he tackled fences.

Probably the most fluent jumper in training

Sprinter Sacre began his racing career in a National Hunt flat race at Ascot in February 2010, where he won by just a nose to King Of The Night. A couple of months later he won a similar race at Ayr by a more impressive 4 lengths. When sighted again in November 2010, he was being sent over hurdles, and lost his first test to Frascati Park having been sent off 6/5 favourite. The jury was out; would he be as good as expected? An answer of sorts came just two weeks later when he slammed the field in a hurdle race at Ascot by 10 lengths. Following this, Henderson decided to bring Sprinter Sacre to the Cheltenham Festival, where he was to run in the Supreme Novices Hurdle. Tony McCoy was booked to ride, and while travelling strongly, he collided with the last flight, and weakened to finish third to Al Ferof and Spirit Son.

In the 2011/12 season, the shrewd Henderson switched Sprinter Sacre to chasing, and his first test was a steeplechase at Doncaster in December 2011. He demolished his opponents by 24 lengths at odds of 2/9, and soon he would take a jump up in class. At the end of the month, Sprinter Sacre contested the Grade II Wayward Lad Novices Chase at Kempton. His main competitor in on the day was the 2011 Champion Hurdle runner-up, Peddler’s Cross, and a horse who only found Hurricane Fly too good at the festival had to be respected. Sprinter Sacre led from the start, and crossing the finish line, he was a massive 16 lengths clear. The jockey that day, Barry Geraghty, described him as “one of the best I’ve ever sat on.” Then began the expectation, and the festival was looming for the world’s newest chasing star.

In the February of 2012, Sprinter Sacre won impressively by 6 lengths against more experienced chasers, like the runner-up on the day, French Opera. At Cheltenham, Sprinter Sacre was competing in the Arkle, where he re-opposed a horse that had beaten him over hurdles in 2011, Al Ferof, as well as the formidable Cue Card and Menorah. He had the field in trouble four fences out, and as he strode away, none of them could go with him. He went on to win readily by 7 lengths, despite being eased by Geraghty in the closing stages. Speaking after the win, Barry Geraghty described he ride in the Arkle as a “schooling session”, and referred to the horse as “the special one.” A month later, Sprinter Sacre had his rivals running from the track, not on it, and only three horses showed up to face him. He was sent off at odds of 1/7, and he strolled around, jumping marvellously, to record a 13 length win from runner-up, Toubab. Upon this victory, his trainer, Nicky Henderson described him as “frightening…extraordinary”, and he proclaimed there was “an aura about him.”

A legend in the making

In the 2012/13 season, the chaser we will all be watching with admiration is no doubt Sprinter Sacre. In September, Nicky Henderson declared his intention to take the “conventional route” to the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham in March, starting with the Tingle Creek at Sandown. He said, “He (Sprinter Sacre) may well take the conventional route of the Tingle Creek, Victor Chandler, Game Spirit, and all being well, he Champion Chase.” Henderson also said he genuinely finds Sprinter Sacre “scary to watch”, but that he was “spectacular.” Sprinter Sacre is currently trading at 11/10 in the ante-post markets for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, but expect those odds to shorten further as we watch the Tingle Creek, Victor Chandler, and the Game Spirit. Despite him likely to oppose the likes of Finian’s Rainbow and Sizing Europe on the day, 11/10 already looks a steal for one of the greatest ever.