The Champion Hurdle crown appears to be up for grabs in an open year and yet Sandown has reported a shortage of runners for the latest trial.

Despite losing much of January to the freeze, there were only six initial entries for Saturday’s Toteswinger Contenders Hurdle, meaning that the race was re-opened until this morning. That brought a final total of eight but the lack of contenders may be a silver lining for Nicky Henderson as he tries to contend with a so far lacklustre season from one of his stable stars.

Binocular was favourite for last year’s Champion Hurdle and was beaten only a neck and a head into third. By comparison he was barely sighted when he was fifth to Go Native in the “Fighting Fifth” Hurdle at Newcastle and only came a little nearer to the centre of the picture when he finished third to Go Native in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park.

“We’ve got a big weekend coming up this weekend – if the weather will allow us,” said Henderson, who also has Zaynar and Affsoun in the race. “We’re taking this route because I’m pretty sure he wants more room, a big galloping track and hopefully a good pace. At Newcastle, and to a degree Kempton – although that was better – the season hasn’t quite got off to the start we anticipated with him, but I’m hoping we’re getting there.”

“We’ve been trying very hard to analyse the whole thing. He does seem very good at the moment. That’s not saying he wasn’t good before but we feel there’s been a bit missing. He’s sparky enough. It’s as though he’s not quite as quick as he once was. He’s grown into a big, strong horse. He shouldn’t have lost any of his speed and has matured.

“There’s no point pretending he hasn’t been disappointing but he ran a respectable race at Kempton and was coming back at the end.”

Binocular may be dropping down the pecking order not just overall but even within his own stable. Zaynar, last year’s Triumph Hurdle winner, has now become Henderson’s standard bearer for the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle. But, while he may be carrying the trainer’s primary hopes he may not be adorned with cheekpieces for his likely prep race, the Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso on February 18th.

Zaynar, unbeaten in five starts over hurdles, wore cheekpieces in the Triumph in order to sharpen him up, having worked lazily at home, but has not for his two victories this season at Ascot and Cheltenham. “My initial reaction would be not to put cheek pieces on him at Kelso and keep them up our sleeve,” Henderson explained. “He can hit flat spots and he does genuinely stay. Sometimes when the pace hots up a bit he can just get tapped for toe for 10 strides. It just keeps him on the bridle and focusing on what is ahead of him and keeps him sharper.”

Keeping a sharp edge on Punchestowns has been another headache for Henderson. He had to pull the horse out from an intended race at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day because of concerns about the ground and now Henderson’s concern is to make up for the loss of time before Punchestowns run in the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Punchestowns has been restricted to one run over fences so far, at Newbury in November, but Henderson wants to run him in the Grade One Totepool Challengers Novices’ Chase. “He’ll run at Sandown on Saturday and all is in good order. Newbury went well, we’ve missed a whole stack of things since then. He was at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day but we got cold feet. We’ve got to get in there now because I’d like two more runs and if we can get in now we can go again in three weeks’ time.

“He’s a big horse and he needs plenty of work. When Big Buck’s beat him in the Cleeve Hurdle I thought I was short that day and we would turn the tables in March but I was wrong. He needs a couple more runs.”

Henderson must be hoping that Binocular just needs one more chance to prove himself. 

Paul Wheeler