Cheltenham Stable Tours 2024 – featuring Shishkin, Iroko, Paisley Park & more

With the Cheltenham Festival just around the corner, Betfred TV has gone behind-the-scenes at various yards to get the lowdown on some of the leading British contenders.

Nicky Henderson

Shishkin (Cheltenham Gold Cup - 6/1 NRNB)

He was very unlucky not to win the King George, obviously. That was sad and cruel and everything, but at least there was nothing wrong with him at Kempton, it was just unlucky. All he did [in the Denman Chase at Newbury] was show that he's fit and well, he gallops, he stayed very strong to the line. We're coming in pretty good shape I think. I don't expect Shishkin to win, but I'm very hopeful he'll be thereabouts.

Jonbon (Queen Mother Champion Chase - 3/1 NRNB)

He's won umpteen Grade Ones and he's still a young horse. He's doing very, very well and you probably haven't seen the best of him yet. Is he a two-miler? I don't know. I was all ready to up him to two-and-a-half two years ago and here we are still at two miles. We're without a Ryanair entry so we weren't even thinking about anything else. It will be a tester.

Sir Gino (Triumph Hurdle - 4/6 NRNB)

Did he surprise me [at Cheltenham on Trials Day]? Yes. If that, what we saw visually, was the real picture then yeah it was very impressive. He's a lovely horse, a great big horse.

Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero

Iroko (Turners Novices' Chase - 11/2 NRNB)

He's an improving horse, he loves jumping, he's got a great attitude, handles the tack, he's used to the hurly-burly of those big handicaps which I think stands him in great stead. I think he's got a fantastic chance.

White Rhino (Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle - 10/1 NRNB)

He's massive, hence why it took so long to win a race! Early on his career he was just so big and gangly that he struggled to get around, he just wasn't strong enough for it, so he got himself well-handicapped and then came back a much-improved horse and couldn't stop winning. I think having been to Cheltenham twice that's going to stand him in good stead and he's straightforward so he's not going to be worried about what's going on around him.

Making Headway (Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle - 16/1 NRNB/Coral Cup - 25/1 NRNB)

He's done everything we've asked of him up to now. We've tried to run him in some good races to get some experience, he was fourth in the Formby up at Aintree, so we just wanted to give him a confidence booster the other day in a lesser novice that we thought he could win which he did, so he's come back from there really fresh and now we can look at a nice handicap. I think he's got more chance of getting in the Martin Pipe but I think if we got in the Coral Cup we'd have a go in that.

Emma Lavelle

Paisley Park (Stayers' Hurdle - 16/1 NRNB)

We always said for this season it was going to be a race-by-race basis. Whatever the legs don't have, the mind and desire to do it is so strong in him that he just forces himself through it every time he goes to the races. It's magical to see him running his races. I have no expectation for Paisley because he puts me through the ringer continually as to what he's going to do and no-one knows but Paisley. He has been such an amazing horse and whatever he does, I'm so proud of him.

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