IT was – fog aside – a very good Christmas for racing in the UK and the mood as the year started at Cheltenham was buoyant, with Nicky Henderson leading the charge with brilliant wins from Constitution Hill and Sir Gino, helped by having Willie Mullins runners vanquished in both those Kempton contests, while nothing says that British stables are flourishing quite like the unlikely news that Henrietta Knight is back among the winners.
Knight’s comeback to the training ranks had not been trumpeted and the quality of the horses she turned out in her first few months back in the job was a long way removed from the starts of yesteryear, with memories of Best Mate seeming very distant, but three winners in recent weeks marks an achievement and her Cheltenham winner Precious Metal was special, not just because of the venue, but also because that youngster currently resides in the box which belonged to the three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup hero.
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