THE six-times Brittsh champion jump trainer Nicky Henderson opened the doors to his famous Seven Barrows yard in Lambourn this week to talk about his prospects for the Cheltenham Festival.

With 72 Festival wins to his name, Henderson is the most successful British trainer at the Festival and only Willie Mullins has trained more winners there.

Henderson’s standout contender is Constitution Hill, who is unbeaten in five starts over hurdles and odds-on favourite for the Champion Hurdle – a race Henderson has won a record eight times.

Here’s what Henderson had to say about his Cheltenham contenders.

Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

I’ve got nothing in the Supreme! I don’t know yet but Luccia ought to run in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. She was impressive last Sunday.

Nico was tempted (by the Supreme) but I think the betting tells you what we’ve got to do. We did put her in it, which I thought was ambitious at the time anyways, but we don’t have to decide now. I would be in favour of sticking with the mares’ race, I must admit.

I’ll speak to the owners nearer to the time, but I’m not going to throw it out. If there was a forfeit stage you’d leave her in, but I can’t believe you’d throw away the mares’ race. I’m not saying she would win that, but at least you know you’ve got a very good chance of winning that.

I do like winning the Supreme as it helps the week go by, as the pressure is off before you begin, but we haven’t got anything else.

When I was going into that race with the likes of Altior and Shishkin, I really was confident. The year Altior won it, Min was the big talking horse from the Mullins camp and all I could think was ‘good luck Min’ because he won’t beat this one. I can’t say that this time in this context, however.

The novice hurdlers have been our weaker department this year. We’ve a nice bunch but they’re just not quite ready. The rest are alright, though.

Sporting Life Arkle Novices’ Chase

With Jonbon, I think as we said (at the weekend), I’d take the positives out of Saturday and not the negatives. As you saw when they turned down the back straight, I think Aidan (Coleman) had taken his foot off things and let him get into a nice rhythm and a roll and didn’t see any reason to start going any quicker. I’m not saying Aidan was asleep but all of a sudden this thing swooped round like a buzzard – whoosh! – and just caught him unaware and the next thing we were four lengths down.

I think it will have done him good personally. He had a really good blow like he’s never done before and I’m going to take positives.

It wasn’t pretty to watch – in fact it was bloody awful from where I was watching because it frightened the living daylights out of me! – but he jumped very well and eventually he’s quickened up and won nicely. He ought to have done, to be fair, because on his previous performances he’d have beaten him by a long way.

I wanted a lead and that’s the first time he’s jumped a fence behind another horse. It didn’t worry him but it did just hurry him a bit. A sharp two miles at Warwick just caught him out for a couple of fences and then he had to chase him around the bend but he got there and did it well in the end.

I spoke to J.P. (McManus, owner) and everyone and we’re looking at it as a good wake-up call for everybody. He will be sharper for it and he had a good old blow, A.P. (McCoy) went to Warwick and he comes down here a lot. He said to me that he looked fantastically well but he looked ready to go to the show ring and not the racecourse and he perhaps just needed it a little more than we anticipated.

The Arkle will be helter skelter and they’ll go a good gallop, but he can go a good gallop as well. He’s made it in his other two runs just because he’s sharp, he’s quick and he’s a good jumper – that’s why I was quite keen to get a lead.

It probably was a good thing the others weren’t there as they might’ve beaten him, but he’s back and he’s fine and we’re just going to get on normally. I’d better just sharpen my pencil and get some more work done.

El Fabiolo was good at the Dublin Racing Festival, in what looked a strong race. I think Jonbon drifting in the market was fair and, having watched it, I was pretty sure he probably would. He doesn’t know his price and I’m not worried about that, though.

Unibet Champion Hurdle

Constitution Hill might go for that one! He’s fine and everything has been going great. He worked on Saturday and he’s got a couple of more bits to do and we’ll look to have an away day.

We usually go to Kempton, I would be thinking Newbury but the ground is too quick there at the moment anyways so I don’t think we’ll use that one. Unless the weather changes dramatically we’ll have to see if we can go to Kempton. I’d like Constitution to have a gallop and there’s a few that I’d like to get an away day into.

You’d have to say he’s been round the track and broken records, so he’s done most things you’d want to see and he hasn’t done anything wrong.

We’re going to have to be careful here as our ground is just drying up. He worked on the grass on Saturday and it was fine but there’s no rain forecast at all. This is an extraordinary animal. His greatest asset is his head – not that it’s the prettiest – but his whole mind game is brilliant.

His racing game is brilliant. You could go three miles with him because you’d just switch him off and put him to sleep and then wait until you get the right moment and press the button. It really is as simple as that.

I could see him going over fences, without a doubt. That will be a decision for over the summer. You could go chasing with Constitution Hill and you can go as far as you like. We’ll see, but let’s just get through this first. If everything goes right, you’d like to think he’d go from Cheltenham to Aintree.

He’s doing freakish things, but he’s only had five runs in his life and you have to remember that it’s very early days in his career. Normally when you’re coming to a Champion Hurdle you’re doing so on the back of between 10-12 races or something, so it’s hard to gauge really apart from the fact he’s done nothing wrong.

He’s got an awful long way to go before I start saying things like he’s the best horse I’ve ever had – it took me 10 years to say that about Sprinter Sacre!

Epatante and First Street are still in this as well. First Street goes to the Kingwell Hurdle on Saturday, which I think will be a good race for him. He had 12st in the Betfair Hurdle, so the Kingwell will suit him better. He’d have to win very impressively to go to the Champion but I’m not sure what else he could go for. I suppose you could go for the County Hurdle but we’ll see.

We don’t know with Epatante at the moment, she’ll run in that or the Mares’ Hurdle. We’ll keep an eye on the weather but they’ve all got to get there – as does Constitution Hill himself.

Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle

Epatante proved at Aintree last year that she stays the two and a half miles, she won very easily that day. It was great to see her win like she did at Doncaster the other day and she was very impressive. I know she’s beaten nothing, but she’s shown what Constitution Hill is beating.

All she did the other day was confirm how good Constitution Hill is, if he keeps slamming her by those distances and she can still come out and beat her own playmates as easily as she did. I thought she was superb the other day and she jumped beautifully.

Marie’s Rock is in very good form and it’s certainly possible that she could move up and run in the Stayers’ Hurdle. I’ve discussed it with Tom Palin (Middleham Park Racing) and there’s no doubt we’ll discuss it more, it certainly won’t be a decision that we’ll make in the near future.

Theatre Glory needs very good ground and needs to be supplemented but so does Epatante. You can take it that they are intended runners, I said at the beginning when it appeared that Epatante wasn’t a runner, she should be treated for betting purposes as a runner.

It’s 50-50 whether she goes to the Champion Hurdle or the Mares’ Hurdle, but just because she isn’t listed at the moment doesn’t mean she isn’t going. She could go for the Mares’ and so could Theatre Glory.

It’s tempting to go for the Stayers’ Hurdle with Marie’s Rock. I know I was saying with the filly (Luccia) I’d want to take the easier option and go for the Mares’ Novice, but I don’t think the Stayers’ is more difficult with her getting the 7lb.

I know she’s never run over three miles but she won the Relkeel Hurdle on New Year’s Day and she stayed very well. I thought she was very impressive that day and she flew up the hill, so she’s fit and well and it’s something we’ll consider.

National Hunt Chase

Mister Coffey will go to the National Hunt Chase. Derek (O’Connor) will ride him at the Festival. He was a bit disappointed to be beaten last Saturday but, to be fair, we wanted to make the running and we had a false start and a standing start and the trouble is he stayed standing! Then he got caught horribly wide the whole way round, I thought he should have won really but that’s that. We got a good run into him and he ran a nice race and this is what we’ve been aiming at all along.

Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle

Attacca and Persian Time are both in this weekend at Ascot. The ground is going to be a worry. Attacca probably wouldn’t mind quick ground, but they’d both have to win well to go for the Ballymore.

Turners Novices’ Chase

I would run Balco Coastal. He didn’t do much wrong the other day [second to Gerri Colombe at Sandown] and I think there’s some improvement to come. He had a right old blow and I thought he’d gone and won the race, to be honest with you. It looks quite a good division, but I think he’s entitled to have a go in the Turners.

I think he just got outstayed at Sandown, we’ve quickened up really well from the bend to the second last and he’s just come at him again a little bit. We might wait a little bit longer (before committing) next time but he loves being up there and he jumps really well. I should think he’d go for that.

Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle

Walking On Air is qualified for the Pertemps and I was pleased with him yesterday (when winning at Exeter).

Ryanair Chase

Shishkin goes to Ascot (on Saturday, for the Grade 1 Betfair Chase). It’s an open Champion Chase and he probably should have been in it, but I was impressed with Gary Moore’s horse at Cheltenham to be fair (Editeur Du Gite). Edwardstone looked as though he’d come and won his race, but it does look more open for that result.

Shishkin has been racing as though he wants further, to my eye. I hope I’m right, otherwise I’m going to be doing an awful lot more supplementing. Shishkin is also in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but I wouldn’t have thought he’d go for that.

You could say that Ascot left a mark on him last year, it was a tough race. You don’t really like to see horses racing off the bridle for so long and that’s what he’s done the last twice. I want to see him on the bridle and it’s got to be better for him.

If it was too quick at Ascot he’d have to go to Cheltenham without a run. The flipped palate could have affected him last time and I think we’ll probably put a tongue-tie on him as well.

Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle

Buzz is in good form and he’s going well, but I’m not going to get a run into him before it though. I got him ready for the Cesarewitch on the back of an absence. We were very happy with him on Saturday and he’s in fine form.

It was a horrible injury, but it’s not impossible that he’d run. He’d have to have a racecourse gallop and I’d love to be able to go to Newbury last week rather than wait for Kempton a fortnight before – as I’d rather do it on grass to be honest.

He fractured his pelvis and that was horrible. It’s been a long road and there’s been a lot of people involved, he went to do some dressage to try and build him up but you can see he’s very lob-sided and very dropped on one side. He moved beautifully on Saturday, and he schooled the other day for the first time and it had no effect on that. I would have thought that Aintree would be the sensible route, but you never know.

To get him back will be a pretty amazing thing on its own, whatever happens, but we won’t do it unless he’s 101% as it wouldn’t be fair on him. It would probably be unfair to go to Cheltenham first time out, to be honest with you.

Three miles up and down those hills after you’ve have an injury like that wouldn’t be the most sensible thing to do.

He was about to run in the Long Walk before he went wrong and he stays two and a quarter miles on the flat. He’s won over two and a half miles so you’d think he stays three.

Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle

Ahorsewithnoname is in good form and she’ll go back for that race. She was second in it last year and she’s still a novice – quite how I’ve managed that I’ve absolutely no idea!