Nicky Henderson: ‘It hurt like hell - it was soul-destroying for everyone here’
The Seven Barrows trainer opens up to Lewis Porteous after a tough few weeks
When it comes to success or failure, March is the pivotal month of the year as far as Nicky Henderson is concerned. His Seven Barrows yard has long been geared towards the Cheltenham Festival, so when things don't go right at the biggest jumps meeting of them all, it can feel like Armageddon has arrived in his historic corner of Lambourn.
Looking back never gets you very far in life, but just two winners from 31 runners in March and no winners at the festival for the first time since 2008 highlights better than words the minefield Henderson and his troops have been navigating for the best part of a month now.
The precise cause of some lacklustre performances on the track remains a mystery. Anything as sinister as equine herpes virus or flu has been categorically ruled out but, just when his string was meant to peak, a cloud of ill health engulfed Seven Barrows.
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