The Nicky Henderson-trained Champ flew up the hill at Cheltenham on Wednesday to catch Minella Indo and 5/2 favourite Allaho just before the line in the Gr1 RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase, giving the trainer a record 67th winner at The Festival.
It was Henderson’s third at the 2020 meeting.
Ridden by Barry Geraghty and owned by J P McManus – for whom it was a 61st Festival triumph – Champ was named after former multiple champion jockey Sir A P McCoy.
The King’s Theatre eight-year-old was sent off at odds of 4/1, and won by a length from Minella Indo.
Champ wins dramatic RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase
Henderson said: “I thought we had come an honourable third and that was it, and had actually turned to see what was happening up the front – I don’t know where he came from! I was actually stood behind Cheveley Park’s [racing manager] Chris Richardson and thought we had finished third to them. Suddenly Champ came into my sights. I thought, ‘what’s he doing here and how has he got here?’
“He’s a horse with a wonderful temperament and attitude, and to be fair his fall [at Cheltenham on January 1] didn’t do that much damage. It was a horrible fall though. We really wanted to have another race but there was nowhere to go. He did have a racecourse school, and to be fair Nico [de Boinville] has done a lot of work with him, particularly in the indoor school, even yesterday morning he jumped half a dozen poles. Everyone has worked hard, it goes without saying, but Nico takes a lot of credit with this one.
“If Shishkin was 100/1 at the second-last [in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on Tuesday], what was Champ at the last?
“Not surprisingly, he gets three miles well. They’ve gone hard up front and it just gave him that window of opportunity at the end. This is the first time he has been back to three miles since Aintree last year – I purposely went two and a half all season, and then we had that fall. That really upset plans a bit. But we’ve done a lot of schooling at home – Barry has been over a few times and Nico has done a lot of work; he’s a wonderful schooling jockey.”
