Nicky Henderson hits top form - what we learned from day one at Cheltenham

The opening day of the Cheltenham Festival has been and gone, and it was everything we could have dreamed of. The return of crowds gave us the famous roar and all the winners were given a mighty reception, including Honeysuckle and Constitution Hill.

There were plenty of lessons to be learned from the Tuesday and as the dust settles, these could be the key storylines for the rest of the festival.

What barren run? Henderson finds form

Nicky Henderson’s barren patch had been well advertised heading into the Cheltenham Festival, but Constitution Hill, Epatante and Marie’s Rock silenced any doubts about his horses’ wellbeing.

Constitution Hill powered up the hill in frightening fashion to land the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle by 22 lengths, smashing the course record in the process. Epatante ran a huge race in the Champion Hurdle too and a better jump at the last could have seen her challenging Honeysuckle more seriously.

Marie’s Rock provided Henderson and Nico De Boinville with a second winner from four runners, scuttling up the near side rail to score at 18-1, and there can be no doubt that the Henderson machine is firing on all cylinders.

That bodes well for the chances of Shishkin and Champ later in the week, with Chantry House another with live claims in the championship races for Seven Barrows.

Constitution Hill v Honeysuckle: who would win in a showdown?

McManus does it again

Owner JP McManus rarely leaves the Cheltenham Festival without a handicap win to his name and Brazil provided him with an opening-day success.

The Padraig Roche-trained four-year-old stormed up the hill to deny Gaelic Warrior in a driving finish to the Boodles and it is unlikely that it will be the only time we see those green and white hoops passing the line in front.

Brazil: another handicap winner for JP McManus at the festivalCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

McManus has several huge handicap chances later in the week, including Sire Du Berlais, who bids to win the Pertemps for a record-equalling third time.

He also has some brilliant chances in the championship races, including Champ in the Stayers and Chantry House in the Gold Cup, both trained by the red-hot Henderson.

Mullins leaves it late

It is rare that we exit the first day of the Cheltenham Festival without a Willie Mullins winner and we were made to wait until the final race of the day for a Closutton scorer.

Although Gaelic Warrior was beaten at shorter odds, this was the weakest day for Mullins in terms of firepower, and that is a frightening prospect moving forward.

Wednesday is likely to be a very good day for the stable, with Sir Gerhard and Facile Vega complemented by appearances from Energumene and Chacun Pour Soi.

The best is certainly yet to come, with Allaho in the Ryanair and Vauban in the Triumph being bankers of the week for many punters, to name just a few.

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Constitution Hill v Honeysuckle: who would win in a showdown?

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