Nicky Henderson is confident his Seven Barrows stable is “going the right way” ahead of the Grand National fixture - but admitted: “There’s still a way to go.”
Concerns over the well-being of his string prompted Henderson to withdraw stable stars Shishkin, Jonbon and Sir Gino from their chosen engagements at Cheltenham as the Lambourn trainer suffered his first blank at the National Hunt Festival since 2008.
But Henderson believes his horses are working their way back to form ahead of Aintree’s glittering three-day fixture, which begins in 13 days’ time. “It’s all going the right way,” said Henderson. “There’s still a way to go, but we’re back in full work.
“We gave them a quiet week - we stopped on the Friday of Cheltenham - and just went back to very steady cantering. Test-wise, I’d be very pleased and the ones that didn’t run at Cheltenham will all work on the grass on Saturday.
“The Sir Ginos, and Jonbons and Shishkins - we’re hoping they can all go to Aintree if things go well. Everything says they’re in good shape and the boys say they all feel good.”
Reflecting on his Cheltenham disappointment - a virus also ruled Constitution Hill out of his Champion Hurdle defence - Henderson added: “So much has been written about Cheltenham, and sadly we weren’t there.
“If my little squad had been there in top form, we could have done a lot of damage - there are two or three of them that would have had a very serious chance.”
