Which Cheltenham Festival race has trainer Nicky Henderson won most often?

Born in Lambeth, South London on December 10, 1950, Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Henderson first took out a training licence in his own right in 1978, having previously spent four years as assistant trainer to the legendary Fred Winter at Upland Stables in Upper Lambourn, Hungerford. Henderson saddled his first winner, Dukery, at Uttoxeter in October, 1978 and has since become the second most prolific trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival, behind only Willie Mullins.

Indeed, Henderson has won the leading trainer award at the March showpiece on three occasions, in 2000, 2010 and 2012, and his career haul of 73 winners includes the Queen Mother Champion Chase six times and the Arkle Challenge Trophy and the Triumph Hurdle seven times apiece. However, the Cheltenham Festival race that the veteran handler has won most often is the two-mile hurdling championship, the Champion Hurdle.

From his original training base at Windsor House Stables, Henderson sent out the hugely talented, but fragile, See You Then to win the Champion Hurdle three years running in 1985, 1986 and 1987. He later said of the Royal Palace gelding, ‘See You Then was the horse that made things happen really. He changed life. He was a great horse.’

In 1992, Henderson moved his operation to nearby Seven Barrows and, after a 22-year hiatus, won the Champion Hurdle again with Punjabi in 2009. Punjabi had won the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle, but fallen heavily at the second-last flight when favourite for the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, so missed out on the £1,000,000 bonus awarded by World Bet Exchange (WBX) for winning the so-called ‘Triple Crown of Hurdling’. More recently, Henderson has saddled Binocular (2010), Buveur d’Air (2017 and 2018), Epatante (2020) and Constitution Hill (2023) for a total of nine wins in the Champion Hurdle.