Nicky Henderson Profile

A trainer extraordinaire, an OBE and a legend of the sport, Nicky Henderson has become almost as synonymous with Cheltenham as Sir Alex Ferguson is with Manchester United, Roger Federer with tennis or Tiger Woods with golf.

Henderson has horse racing in his blood – his father, Johnny Henderson, was one of the founders of what is now known as Jockey Club Racecourses, the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom.

He first tried to make his way in the sport as a jockey but it was during his career as an assistant to the iconic rider and trainer Fred Winter that Henderson established the foundations of his equine mastery.

Nicky Henderson Record and Winners

Henderson first came to national prominence in the mid-1980s, training See You Then to three successive triumphs in the Cheltenham Festival Champion Hurdle in 1985, 1986 and 1987.

Since then he has notched more than 70 wins at the Cheltenham Festival to become the most successful British trainer in its history.

But it isn’t just at Cheltenham where Henderson dominates most – he has registered more than 3,000 winners throughout his career and has been the British jump racing Champion Trainer no fewer than six times. The only major race that has eluded him is the Grand National.

Nicky Henderson Cheltenham Record

Henderson’s record includes training some genuine all-time greats.

See You Then is one of only five horses to win the Champion Hurdle three times. In Sprinter Sacre, meanwhile, he had a horse who had a steeplechasing rating of 192 – the third-highest in Timeform ranking history behind only Arkle (212) and Flyingbolt (210).

The last of the Henderson runners to land a Cheltenham Gold Cup title was Bobs Worth in 2013.

That triumph was part of a hat-trick of victories for the horse across three separate races and festivals – the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle in 2011, the RSA Chase in 2012 and the Gold Cup in 2013. He was the first horse to achieve this feat since Flyingbolt in the 1960s.

Henderson's record at Cheltenham is formidable and he will fancy his chances of building that legacy even further with the impressive Constitution Hill expected to run in the Champion Hurdle this year after missing out last year due to illness. Will he prove the next Henderson horse to go down in the history books?

Here's a closer look at Henderson’s Cheltenham Festival Grade 1 record:

• 2 Cheltenham Gold Cups – Long Run (2011), Bobs Worth (2013)
• 9 Champion Hurdles – See You Then (1985-87), Punjabi (2009), Binocular (2010), Buveur d'Air (2017-18), Epatante (2020), Constitution Hill (2023)
• 6 Queen Mother Champion Chases – Remittance Man (1992), Finian's Rainbow (2012), Sprinter Sacre (2013-16), Altior (2018-19)
• 2 Stayers' Hurdles – Rustle (1989), Bacchanal (2000)

Nicky Henderson Recent Winners

Let’s take a look at some of Henderson’s recent form coming into the 2025 Cheltenham Festival:

• 20th February – Maiden Hurdle (Timetoshine, 17/2)
• 19th February – Novices’ Hurdle (Calimystic, 2/1)
• 8th February – Premier Handicap National Hunt Hurdle (Joyeuse, 9/2)

List of selected recent winners correct at the time of publication but subject to change.

Nicky Henderson in Numbers

• 4 – Nicky Henderson has trained four of the last eight winners of the Champion Hurdle; Buveur D'Air in 2016 and 2017, Epatante in 2020 and Constitution Hill in 2023. It would have likely been five in eight, had Constitution Hill not been withdrawn from the race last year
• 0 – He trained zero winners in the 2024 festival – the first time that’s happened since 2008
• 73 – At the time of writing, Henderson has 73 Cheltenham winners to his name. Only Irish trainer Willie Mullins has more
• 6 – The number of times Nicky Henderson has been British jump racing Champion Trainer

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