From Cheltenham to Melbourne for Henderson’s Classic Hero Palladium

[Wandering Eyes]

LAMBOURN, UK — Nicky Henderson has reiterated that connections of Palladium (Ger) have Melbourne Cup ambitions for last year's G1 Deutsches Derby hero, who is first set to continue his hurdling career in the G1 Triumph Hurdle at next month's Cheltenham Festival.

The race that stops a nation might not have been uppermost in Henderson's thoughts on Monday morning, as he welcomed the media to his Seven Barrows base to provide the lowdown on his formidable squad for the four-day extravaganza at Prestbury Park, but it was clear that a return to the Flat is the ultimate goal for the Lady Bamford-owned colt–win, lose or draw when he clashes with stable-mate Lulamba (Fr) (Nirvana du Berlais {Fr}) in the Triumph.

“I think they're two high-class horses. If you only had one of them you'd be happy–I'm even happier having two,” Henderson said of his hand for the premier four-year-old contest in the National Hunt racing calendar, which is sponsored by Lord Bamford's company, JCB. Last-time-out Ascot winner Lulamba heads the ante-post betting at a general 7-4, while Palladium is available to back at 12-1 with most bookmakers, following a workmanlike victory when making his hurdling bow at Huntingdon last month.

“Lulamba is a very laid-back horse at home,” Henderson continued. “He doesn't behave like a baby, but he's very raw still. He's a big, scopey horse and you could easily see him jumping a fence next year.

“I don't think Palladium will be jumping fences–I think he'll be winning the Melbourne Cup.”

The bullish Henderson is already no stranger to having runners in Australia, having saddled Forgotten Voice (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) in the 2013 renewal of the G3 Geelong Cup, when a fifth-place finish wasn't enough to secure him a place in the final field at Flemington.

Even for a trainer who has achieved so much in the sport, it would be a notable first for Henderson, the winner of 73 races at the Cheltenham Festival, should Palladium go on to represent him in the Melbourne Cup. However, he was unable to confirm that the son of Gleneagles (Ire) will remain in his care for any future starts on the Flat.

“I expect he'd probably go back to a Flat trainer,” said Henderson, who nevertheless announced himself well up for the challenge should he be given the opportunity, adding, “It would be very good fun and we did go down there once but didn't get in. I don't know, we'll have to see.”

The fact that an Australian party was the underbidder when Palladium was purchased by Highflyer Bloodstock, on behalf of Lady Bamford, for €1,400,000 at the Arqana Arc Sale in October is said to have buoyed connections in their Melbourne Cup quest, but first Henderson is fully focused on the task at hand at Cheltenham.

Palladium didn't impress everyone when battling to a two-length win at Huntingdon, displaying a hurdling technique which was sometimes less than fluent, but Henderson was keen to take the positives out of that performance from a colt who has reportedly been “terrific all the way through” in his time at Seven Barrows.

“There are two things about the Huntingdon race,” Henderson began, keen to put the record straight after his charge had earned mixed reviews. “The first is that the form has already turned out to be red hot, and the second is that the time was fantastic. He was six seconds faster than the other division. Q.E.D.”

He added, “With colts it [going jumping] isn't the easiest thing you'd ever do, but they either do it or they don't. He's got a fantastic temperament and that makes it very, very easy. He went away and did a bit of loose schooling to start with, which we nearly always do with horses who are coming off the Flat, and he enjoyed that. He's been terrific all the way through.”

Palladium had been expected to put the finishing touches to his Cheltenham preparations with an outing in the G2 Adonis Hurdle at Kempton on Saturday, and that still hasn't been ruled out, but his trainer threw a curve ball into the mix on Monday morning when revealing that Lulamba had been given the same entry.

An earlier-than-advertised clash between the pair is definitely out of the question, according to Henderson, but he is still yet to decide which of the pair will take up the engagement.

He explained, “Lulamba is terribly well and he'd need to have a racecourse gallop. And he's only had two runs in his life, whereas Palladium has done a mountain of racing. With the way he's been working and schooling, does he really need to [run again]? I think he might be better where he is. I don't know, we'll just see. They're both going to work tomorrow and then we'll decide.”

The mountain of racing done by Palladium, before he ever stepped foot at Seven Barrows, amounted to seven runs on the Flat in Germany when trained by Henk Grewe. After beating the G2 Derby Italiano winner Borna (Fr) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) by a neck to register his biggest success in the Deutsches Derby, he then signed off for his former stable by finishing six lengths behind Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in September's G1 Preis von Europa.

Of course, that form has very little relevance when it comes to his Cheltenham assignment, but if nothing else it puts his trainer in a totally unique position. Palladium is the most expensive National Hunt purchase of all time, lest we forget, with a potential stallion career still ahead of him. A son of the Listed winner and G1 Premio Lydia Tesio runner-up Path Wind (Fr) (Anabaa), bred by Gestut Fahrhof, he is certainly a precious commodity so far as his trainer is concerned.

“Definitely not, no,” was Henderson's emphatic reply when asked whether he'd ever been entrusted with a Flat performer in anything like the same league as this colt. “He's a very high-class horse and a beautiful-looking horse, too. You could take him anywhere and he'd win a prize.”

Anywhere, any prize, it seems that nothing is off limits for Palladium in 2025.

The post From Cheltenham to Melbourne for Henderson’s Classic Hero Palladium appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article