With the Cheltenham Festival now less than two months away, the track’s official Trials Day took top billing last week. While not short of impressive performances, the injury to Champion Hurdle favourite Sir Gino dominated the headlines.
With the Sir Gino incident casting a shadow over the Unibet Hurdle, the most eye-catching performance came in the Cotswold Chase, where James Joseph Mangan’s Spillane’s Tower bounced right back to his best.
Away from the jumping action, French superstar Calandagan was crowned world champion for 2025 at the Longines World Racing Awards in London.
Sir Gino Fractures Pelvis in Unibet Hurdle
Unbeaten in seven starts under rules, including a trio of Grade 1 successes, the Nicky Henderson-trained Sir Gino had climbed to the top of the two-mile hurdling division. Out on his own at the head of the Champion Hurdle market, he started at odds of just 2/5 to win his final prep race. Sadly, Sir Gino’s Unibet Hurdle challenge ended in worrying circumstances before the penultimate obstacle.
Having cleared the third last hurdle, it became clear that something had gone very wrong with the 163-rated star. Quickly pulled up by Nico de Boinville, Sir Gino was attended to by the on-course veterinary team as those in attendance and watching on TV held their breath.
Thankfully, while still understandably cautious, the prognosis appears to be relatively positive for the six-year-old. Taken by horse ambulance to the Three Counties Equine Hospital in Tewkesbury, scans revealed that Sir Gino had fractured his pelvis.
Sir Gino was transferred from Cheltenham to the Three Counties Veterinary Clinic and following scans and x-rays he does have a fractured pelvis but having spoken to the great team that are caring for him they are hopeful that although this is obviously significant they have…
— Nicky Henderson (@sevenbarrows) January 24, 2026
It’s a significant injury, and one which rules him out for the season, meaning the horse will miss the Cheltenham Festival for the third year in a row. However, Henderson offered hope for the future when stating:
“He won’t race again this season. I think it’ll be many months before we know whatever the future holds for him, but horses do mend from this. It’s a long one, though. Pelvic injuries are, unfortunately, not a rarity, but how and what he did, nobody will ever know. We’ve just got to hope and pray.”
Spillane’s Tower Shortens in Gold Cup Market
While 2026 Trials Day is unlikely to be remembered with any fondness by the Henderson team, leading owner JP McManus celebrated a Grade 2 double. Sir Gino’s injury took much of the gloss off The New Lion’s victory in the Unibet Hurdle, but the McManus star still impressed with his acceleration and remains on target for the Day 1 highlight. Around thirty minutes before that event, Gold Cup credentials were under the microscope in the Cotswold Chase, and it was again the green and gold silks which came home in front.
Hailing from the yard of 10-horse trainer James Joseph Mangan, Spillane’s Tower arrived at Cheltenham as a dual Grade 1 winner. However, the most recent of those top-level triumphs came in April 2024, and he had shown very little in two starts this season. With Cheltenham Festival winners L’Homme Presse, Grey Dawning, and Flooring Porter making up the opposition, he looked to face a tough task.
On the plus side, Spillane’s Tower was receiving six pounds from Grey Dawning and L’Homme Presse, and solid support on the day suggested a big run was expected. Going in the hands of Jack Kennedy, the eight-year-old rediscovered his best form. Travelling well throughout, he loomed up ominously in the straight to overhaul the front-running L’Homme Presse to win with a bit up his sleeve.
Already responsible for the reigning champ Inothewayurthinkin, JP McManus looks to have a strong second string to his Gold Cup bow. 100/1 before the race, Spillane’s Tower was trimmed to 16/1 to win the Cheltenham Festival showpiece.
Calandagan Claims Top Award
It was quite a year in 2025 for Francis-Henri Graffard, with the French handler winning a host of top-level events at home and abroad. Among a stellar cast which included Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero Daryz, the star to shine brightest of all was the four-year-old gelding Calandagan.
Rounding off 2024 with a second-place finish in the Champion Stakes, Calandagan’s runner-up effort in the 2025 Coronation Cup extended his record in Group 1 events to 2-2-2-2. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Or at least that’s how it seemed, until Calandagan sprouted wings in the second half of the season.
Finally breaking his top-level duck in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, he added the King George and Champion Stakes to his haul before travelling to Tokyo to claim the Japan Cup.
That streak of excellence led many to claim that the son of Gleneagles was the best racehorse on the planet. Tuesday, 20 January saw that opinion vindicated as Calandagan was crowned the 2025 world champion at the Longines World Racing Awards.
Calandagan is likely to follow a similar programme in 2026, ending in Tokyo, where he will attempt to become the first overseas runner to win back-to-back Japan Cups.
