TIGHT-LIPPED Nicky Henderson has decided to skip tomorrow’s Adonis Hurdle with two of his Cheltenham big guns.
Hendo had both the antepost Triumph Hurdle favourite Lulamba and £1.2 million buy Palladium entered up at Kempton, but neither were declared.
Lulamba is the antepost favourite for the Triumph Hurdle[/caption]
Palladium had been expected to run at Kempton this weekend[/caption]
He had said earlier in the week he would send one – not both – to the Adonis and would make his decision after a piece of work on Tuesday morning.
But, given the disaster that struck at Seven Barrows last February when the yard was hit by a virus, punters became a little spooked when neither horse was declared.
And Hendo would not expand on why he’d had a change of heart, though he said both horses were in good health.
He said: “Both horses are absolutely fine. I’m just doing what I think is the best thing to do and they will go straight to Cheltenham.”
When asked what his thinking was and what he planned to do with them between now and the Festival, he simply said: “I’m doing a lot of thinking.”
A couple of bookies eased Lulamba ever so slightly for the Triumph, with William Hill pushing him out to 2-1 (from 7-4) while Palladium remains a top-price 14-1.
Hendo will take a group of horses for his traditional pre-Festival racecourse gallop at Kempton next week, though he has yet to decide who will be put through their paces.
Constitution Hill, who worked abysmally at Kempton last February and was ruled out of the Champion Hurdle shortly afterwards through illness, is unlikely to be one of them.
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