ONE of the earliest lessons I learnt at the knee of my late father is that in racing, they don’t come back - ‘they’ being great horses who have succumbed to illness or injury.

However young they might be, however brilliant, the absence forced on by significant injury tends to dim the light that once shone so brightly. What better way to illustrate the point than by recalling the best – stablemates Arkle and Flyingbolt, who were untouchable at their zenith.

Brought low either by injury or disease, and despite attempts by Tom Dreaper to bring the pair back to competition, it was either impossible in the case of Arkle, or futile in the case of Flyingbolt, who was a shadow of his former self despite outwardly recovering from brucellosis. It was a lesson about accepting disappointment in life as much as about racing, and one I wasn’t happy to hear as an optimistic youth.

Time and again, that old adage has proven true, but it made the occasions when it was defied a little sweeter. For Burrough Hill Lad, constantly thwarted by injury after his brilliant Hennessy win, there was the small satisfaction of Combs Ditch, who came back after collapsing at Cheltenham in 1983, or even Delius, off for five years after breaking down at the same Cheltenham Festival before winning at Aintree for Richard Lee.

Both of those horses hold a special place in my affections, but it niggles that neither of that pair cemented their comebacks with a win on the biggest stage, and the enormity of such a feat isn’t lost on me.

TRIUMPHAL RETURN

It came as an enormous pleasure, therefore, to witness the triumphal return of Sprinter Sacre in the latest season. Like Arkle, he was once untouchable, but he endured an arduous campaign when winning at Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown in 2013, and that as much as his much-discussed heart problem seemed to leave a big mark on him.

When he returned in the Desert Orchid Chase at Christmas, having missed his intended target the previous month, it was soon apparent that something was wrong, and after losing his place he was swiftly pulled up by Barry Geraghty, after which he was diagnosed as having suffered a fibrillating heart.

That put his career on hold as the condition was monitored, and it wasn’t until Ascot in January 2015 that he was seen again, amidst rumours that he wasn’t showing his old sparkle on the gallops, and he had again missed other mooted targets.

In the end he ran well to be second to the subsequent Champion Chase winner, but his air of invincibility was replaced with one of fragility, and when he was again pulled up at Cheltenham, the vultures were circling. Despite another second at Sandown in April, it was clear that the old champion was misfiring badly.

The writing, as far as most were concerned, was firmly on the wall. Sprinter Sacre could clearly be competitive in decent two-mile contests given his latent talent, but the vitality which made him irrepressible at his peak was surely gone for good. Nicky Henderson wasn’t exactly bullish, but he brushed aside thoughts of retirement to prepare his star for another season in the trenches, hopeful that the old appetite would return, and against expectation, it did.

FESTIVAL HISTORY

The change was a gradual one, perhaps, but it was perceptible, starting with a win under Nico de Boinville in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham’s Open Meeting where he was getting weight from his rivals – a hollow victory, claimed the doubters, but the believers noted that the “Black Aeroplane” had re-found his mid-race gears, taking lengths out of his rivals under less restrained tactics that utilised the previous season, and giving a glimpse of what once thrilled the racing word.

He scrambled home back at Kempton next time, but showed real courage to out-jump old rival Sire de Grugy at the last, and thereby showed that the old will to win was also resurfacing. He was still viewed by many as merely a foil to new superstar Un de Sceaux when the Champion Chase came around, but by now the belief within the Seven Barrows yard was that a corner had been turned. There was to be no pussy-footing about in the race itself, and de Boinville launched his mount into full-blooded pursuit of Un de Sceaux and Special Tiara approaching the third last, where he made his first error of the race. If there was a time for the former champ to crack, this was it, but the response was both immediate and spine-tingling, surging to the front between his two rivals, and clear as he crossed the penultimate fence with perfect poise, the race now at his mercy.

He was less fluent at the last, he maintained his momentum to win by a clear margin, and it’s hard to imagine a warmer reception for any winner at Cheltenham. He went on to win with even more authority at Sandown, but it was his Queen Mother triumph which saw his rehabilitation as champion, and will provide one of the greatest ever moments in Festival history.