Epatante finds Festival form with impressive victory in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton

Nicky Henderson’s Epatante finds Festival form with impressive victory in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton

  • Epatante regained her Christmas Hurdle crown at Kempton on Boxing Day
  • Nicky Henderson believes the seven-year-old showed she has her mojo back 
  • It also erased the memory of her defeat as the odds-on favourite last year


Nicky Henderson believes Epatante showed she has her mojo back in a decisive victory from Glory And Fortune in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle.

It was a performance that helped erase the memory of her defeat as the odds-on favourite in the contest last year, with her slick jumping an indication that back treatment over the summer has had a positive effect — although Epatante will have to raise her game to beat Ireland’s Champion Hurdler Honeysuckle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Epatante regained her Christmas Hurdle crown at Kempton on Boxing Day

Henderson said: ‘Her jumping is back together. That has changed the game quite considerably.

‘It was a Champion Hurdle performance but it is another bridge when you get there.’