Henderson upbeat over Newbury ground

Nicky Henderson declared himself pleased with conditions after walking the course at Newbury ahead of this weekend’s highly-anticipated fixture.

The ’Betfair Super Saturday’ card promises to be vital for the Seven Barrows handler if it does survive the freezing temperatures, with his Gold Cup hero Long Run and exciting novice Sprinter Sacre both set for their final prep runs for Cheltenham.

With the course having been covered for over a week, the meeting faces a better chance than most of going ahead and Henderson was happy with what he saw when checking the ground yesterday, in company with champion jockey Tony McCoy.