Matt Chapman talks all things Altior, Nicky Henderson and Faugheen in his latest column
Forget fake news, it all kicked off this week with the news that Altior will miss the Tingle Creek!
IT all kicked off this week. Forget Trump and his fake news, this was real hardcore world breaking news.
Oh yes, ‘Altiorgate’ smashed us all straight in the face.
In many ways it’s hard to believe. Some horses are fragile, and run like fragile horses.
Altior, on the other hand, has always looked like a man. An Arkle hero who was tough, battle hardened, mature beyond his years.
But just like the supposedly extra-terrestrial Douvan and Faugheen the machine, it turns out Altior is just a horse at the end of the day. A good horse, an outstanding beast, but a horse.
So Altior has a breathing issue. It’s a pain for all racing fans and the sport as a whole, and without doubt it’s been a pain for trainer Nicky Henderson.
Indeed, members of the press have smashed into ‘Hendo’, with many far from happy at the way the news of Altior’s issues surfaced.
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I’m involved in a little way, as for forty five minutes on Monday night I chatted with Henderson on my On the Line show on Attheraces. Not once was it suggested Altior could not breath.
Am I bitter? Not at all, to be honest, even though Altior first gave a hint of things to come two days earlier on the Henderson gallops when he appears to have made noises that he should not have been making.
It might surprise you that I’m not shouting abuse from the rooftops, as I’m probably seen as quite an outspoken person in the comfy world of racing.
But to be honest I think a mountain has been made of a molehill in this instance, you have to look at it from Henderson’s point of view.
Every morning he works horses and some of them are not right. Then they work a few days later and there is nothing wrong with them.
You see horses are not robots, just like humans. Do you tell someone every time you have a headache, or perhaps only if you suffer a migraine?
Altior is a high profile horse. He’s a brilliant two-mile chaser, but Henderson cannot be expected to tell us all every time he’s got a pimple.
Obviously a breathing issue is a significant setback.
But what would have happened if Henderson had told us all Altior had made a noise, and then a few days later the horse was perfectly all right again.
People would slag him for setting off alarm bells.
In horse racing people seem to want all the information every minute of the day. I find that strange.
The champ is back!
SPEAKING of former Champion Hurdle hero Faugheen, a couple of months ago I exclusively revealed the monster would run in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown.
Tomorrow he does, barring an accident in the hours before the race.
When I wrote that story I got quite a bit of abuse on social media, with those clearly much better informed than me suggesting he would never come back.
Faugheen is nine now. He’s as good a hurdler as I have ever seen. I can’t wait to see him and I just pray he’s got all that old ability in his ageing frame. It’s nice to be right. Welcome back son.
For a start ante-post markets are limited, and the idea millions of pounds are at stake is a nonsense. Bookmakers use ante-post markets for publicity. That is the truth of the matter.
And if every trainer told us every issue they have with their horses the chances are we would go mad and simply be left confused.
And I suspect we would be shocked how hard it is to keep a horse 100% sound all the time. We might even question if horses should be racing at all!
Henderson is the champion trainer, and like the former big cheese and arch rival Paul Nicholls he is outstanding with the press, as the time he gave me on Attheraces shows.
Matt Chapman's TV tips
1.50 Cheltenham - Vicente: 'Stays strong and should be fit for this'
2.25 Cheltenham - Le Prezien: 'Will be hard to keep out of the frame'
2.45 Lingfield - Ayrad: 'Can bounce back to his best form here'
3.00 Cheltenham - Thomas Campbell: 'Improving youngster for Nicky Henderson'
3.15 Lingfield - Mythmaker: 'Good draw and good track form and can be involved'
3.30 Cheltenham - Stamp Your Feet: 'Fair recent efforts and has more to come'
We should celebrate the access to the top sportsmen and women in our game, rather than slag them about the timing of a press release or the announcement of sidelined horse.
Not that I am saying those in this sport are immune from criticism. Of course that is not the case.
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But those who have slated Henderson should remember how dull the game would be without people like the Seven Barrows maestro.
This is not me going soft. But I do believe the demand for news from racing’s participants has gone crazy.
Racing is a sport. In many ways a sport of chance. A gamble. If you can’t hack it, find something less fun and interesting.