‘What a shame' – £400,000 wonderhorse leaves Nicky Henderson without ever running a race

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

Will he ever be the superstar his price tag suggested he was?
A £400,000 wonderhorse has left Nicky Henderson without ever running a race.
Bidding for Minella Premier was absolutely fierce when he went under the hammer at Doncaster in May 2024.
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Minella Premier looked a monster winning his point-to-point by 12 lengths and selling for £400,000 - but he never made the racecourse under Nicky Henderson
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Richard Hobson has been tasked with getting Minella Premier's career back on track after the horse left Nicky Henderson's Seven Barrows yard
Credit: Alamy
Legendary handler Henderson and bloodstock expert Jerry McGrath struck the winning ticket when they stretched to the huge sum - seeing off the likes of former Premier League footballer Alan Rogers.
But a little over a year later the horse has left Seven Barrows for a new trainer entirely.
Richard Hobson was listed as Minella Premier's handler as of last month.
At the time of his sale, the horse was touted as a possible Gold Cup and Grand National winner - like Minella Indo and Minella Times.
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All three came from the 'Minella' academy of John Nallen in Tipperary, Ireland.
But Minella Premier has not taken to a racetrack since his sole win - a dozen length victory - in a point-to-point the same month he was bought.
Related to Grade 1-winning chaser Captain Chris, Henderson waxed lyrical after snapping up Minella Premier.
He said at the time: "Jerry's known all about him for a while and we followed him into his point-to-point and out of his point-to-point.
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"Everybody was impressed by him and he had a lot of 'wow' around him.
"He's come here with that behind him and all the right people followed him into the ring.
"It's great to see a horse make that sort of money.
"A really good horse with a real vibe around him is entitled to go and do that."
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Minella Premier was bought by Oliver Harris, who has subsequently put a load of his horses up for sale.
The horse is still listed as belonging to him, unlike Peaky Boy, Willmount and several others who changed hands in a £650,000 firesale.
While Nallen added to the hype, saying: "Minella Premier is the most impressive point-to-pointer we've ever produced.
"He's by a good sire and he's always been quality since we bought him as a foal.
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"He's done everything right. A man asked at his point-to-point what I thought of him.
"I replied that I'd be afraid to tell him what I really thought.
"After the race he said, 'Ah, I think I know what you think of him now!'
"I had plenty of offers before I came here with him.
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"You'd be shocked by how much money I was prepared to take him home for.
"It's a great result, though, and Nicky Henderson will improve him stones.
"He'll be a proper two-and-a-half mile horse at Cheltenham next March."
However, that never materialised, with the horse clearly suffering from some sort of setback during his time with Hendo.
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Punters said it was a 'shame' he never made the track - but he could have a new lease of life under Hobson.
The former jockey has excelled with chasers over the years, with Fugitif's December Gold Cup win at Cheltenham in December 2023 the most valuable.
He is perhaps best known for Lord Du Mesnil, the Grade 3-winning chaser who's won more than £250,000 during the course of his career.
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