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.
It kicks off at Cheltenham itself with The November Meeting this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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.
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?
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.
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.