CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL Tue 15-Fri 18 March Coverage: BBC Radio 5 live Tue 1200-1600 GMT, Wed/ Thur 1400-1600, Fri 1300-1600, Champion Hurdle 1520, Channel 4 TV/Racing UK Live text, reports and results: BBC Sport website Twitter: Updates from BBC's Cornelius Lysaght and Honest Frank
Advertisement
McCoy enters the space age ahead of the Festival
By Frank Keogh at Cheltenham
Menorah and Hurricane Fly are among the leading contenders for the Champion Hurdle on day one of the 2011 Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday.
Eleven runners are set to go to post as the track celebrates the centenary of a fixture which is now over four days.
The Supreme Novices' Hurdle kicks off the Festival at 1330 GMT.
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Tony McCoy will be without a ride in the big race after reigning champion Binocular was a late withdrawal.
Henderson, who helped guide Binocular to victory after being a major doubt shortly before last year's Festival, said he was "devastated" by the news.
Henderson will hope for some kind of compensation in Tuesday's big race, where the going is likely to be good to soft, with the Welsh Champion Hurdle winner Oscar Whisky.
McCoy's great friend Ruby Walsh, who has only had a handful of racing days since returning from a double break of his right leg, has been given the ride on Hurricane Fly instead of his more recent, but less experienced, partner Paul Townend.
Hurricane Fly, trained by Willie Mullins, is making his Cheltenham debut while Menorah - based in Somerset with Philip Hobbs - has won three times at the track, including taking the Festival's first race last year.
Unbeaten Peddlers Cross represents Donald McCain, the son of triple Grand National winner Red Rum's trainer Ginger.
The 2010 runner-up Khyber Kim runs for Nigel Twiston-Davies, who also trains the current Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Imperial Commander.
Cue Card won the Champion Bumper at the 2010 Festival and had been touted earlier in the season as a potential contender for the Champion Hurdle, but trainer Colin Tizzard has stuck to the opening novices' event where his son Joe will ride.
In that first race Henderson saddles Spirit Son, to be ridden by Barry Geraghty, and McCoy's mount Sprinter Sacre.
Despite winning more than 3,000 races during his career, including the Grand National at the 15th attempt on Don't Push It in 2010, Northern Irishman McCoy is not favourite to be top jockey at the meeting.
That honour goes to Walsh, who has the pick of rides for English champion trainer Paul Nicholls and his Irish counterpart Mullins.
He represents Nicholls in the first on Al Ferof, who won at Newbury last month after escaping unharmed when two horses were killed by a freak electrocution in the parade ring.
Walsh has ridden more winners than any other jockey at the Festival. He stands on 27, four ahead of McCoy.
The 31-year-old Irishman will hope for more when he rides two previous dual winners in the feature races on Wednesday and Thursday.
Master Minded, the 2008 and 2009 winner, is his mount in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday as he looks to reverse form with last year's winner Big Zeb.
On Thursday, Walsh seeks to become the first man to ride a horse to three consecutive wins in the three-mile World Hurdle aboard Big Buck's who has claimed his last 10 races, but has talented opponents including Grands Crus, Mourad and Fiveforthree.
And then he reunites with one of the great steeplechasers of modern times as Kauto Star, trained by Nicholls, tries to win the Gold Cup back for a second time.
The 2007 and 2009 winner, his stablemate and 2008 champion Denman, plus last year's victor Imperial Commander, are all set to run in Friday's feature race.
Among their challengers is a horse several years their junior in Long Run, who sent Kauto Star to a surprise defeat when he was seeking a historic fifth straight King George VI Chase win in January.
Ireland's challenge is headed by the Mullins-trained Kempes, set to be ridden by McCoy, and Pandorama for Noel Meade.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?