A standout performer of 2018, a Christmas Countdown cannot go by without mention of possibly the best racehorse currently in training, Altior.
How High Could Altior Fly? by Niamh Townsend
On the 20th of February 2010, a stunning gelding by Network made his racecourse debut a winning one at Ascot. His name: Sprinter Sacre. The rest, as they say, is history.
Sprinter Sacre scaled the highest heights, looking immortal in his first two seasons chasing, proving he was the most exciting novice chaser seen in a long time and then proving that hype with a truly unforgettable 2012/2013 season, highlighted by victories at the Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown Festivals. The trouble here is, the higher you climb, the further you have to fall. In December of 2013, Sprinter Sacre fell from those heights he scaled and crashed back down to earth after being pulled up in the Tingle Creek at Sandown. The dream seemed over, a fibrillating heartbeat the cause, and many called for retirement.
But, Nicky Henderson knew the dream was far from over. He did not give up on his stable star and with careful nurturing under his watchful eye, Sprinter Sacre was able to return to the racecourse. A second placed finish against Dodging Bullets at Ascot promised a lot, but a lacklustre performance in the Queen Mother Champion Chase followed. Many others may have called it a day, but those closest to Sprinter Sacre knew exactly what this horse was capable of and were determined to get him back to his former mould of immortality.
In the 2015/2016 season they succeeded, and the 'Impossible Dream' came true with a truly incredible performance from Sprinter Sacre and Nico De Boinville at Cheltenham in the Queen Mother Champion Chase – a "win for racing" as Willie Mullins put it, there was barely a dry eye in the house watching the former champion make a triumphant return to the winners enclosure he had made his own.
It was at that very same Cheltenham Festival in 2016, just the day before Sprinter Sacre's famous victory, that a horse from the very same stable made his voice heard loud and clear in grade 1 company for the first time: Altior.
When Sprinter retired the following November, the lofty expectations that were already held on Altior's shoulders as he embarked on his novice chasing season were enhanced. Someone had to be handed Sprinter's mantle as a standout 2 mile chaser, but nobody expected the next in line would be on the scene so quickly. After an impressive victory in the Arkle Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, Altior was pitched against that year's Champion Chase winner, Special Tiara. Altior put him well and truly in his place, and proved to everyone that he was not messing around.
An interrupted campaign last season proved no issue to Nicky Henderson's charge as he picked up three more wins including the Queen Mother Champion Chase, where he dominated in a very different style to how his former stablemate had done five and two years previously but effectively enough to stamp his authority over any other two mile chaser in training.
'Altior' means 'higher' in Latin, and who would've thought that a name could mean so much. Sprinter Sacre who stood before him climbed heights the racing public could scarcely believe possible and thought may never happen again, now Altior is finding his own path. They are two very different horses both physically and in their running style, but there is no denying that Altior has candidly taken up the position of the dominant two mile chaser and passed every test thrown at him with flying colours. And since he has yet to be beaten over obstacles it raises the question, just how high could he climb?
Images from The Racing Post
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