Henderson hopes to be back for another go at the Gold Cup with Jango Baie
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Fri 13 Mar 2026
Nicky Henderson hopes to be back next year for another go at the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup with Jango Baie.
The 11-4 joint-favourite did little wrong in the highlight of Festival week, with only fellow market leader Gaelic Warrior too good, albeit by an impressive eight lengths.
The Seven Barrows trainer said of his seven-year-old, who won the Arkle 12 months ago and was having his first start since his close fourth in the King George on Boxing Day: “He’s run a great race and done nothing wrong.
“We’re only seven – that’s the way you’ve got to look at it. He’s got a good chance of being back for another one and he can only improve.
“The winner was just in a different gear to us, wasn’t he? You could see that from two out.
“Our horse stayed on really well and he’s only had two runs having missed the Denman Chase on purpose, not that I think that made any difference.
“We’ve got the four weeks to Aintree, so we’ll certainly look at it.”
Gavin Cromwell was satisfied with Inothewayurthinkin’s performance despite relinquishing his crown in third.
The eight-year-old had looked the dominant force in the staying division when triumphing 12 months ago but had failed to show any sparkle in three starts this term, most recently suffering a tired fall in the Irish Gold Cup.
Inothewayurthinkin appeared to be struggling through the early stages at Cheltenham too, but jockey Mark Walsh persisted, coaxed his mount back into it and he kept on to the line to be beaten a total of 10 lengths by impressive winner Gaelic Warrior.
Cromwell said: “He didn’t travel very well in the race and didn’t jump very well – he went out to the right. There were a couple of times in the race I thought Mark might even pull him up, but he’s come home really well.
“It’s a very short time since Leopardstown where he was lying at the back of the last after having a tired fall, so we haven’t had very much time to get from that to here.
“He struggled for the whole of the first circuit and a lot of the second one, but he came home really well so we’re delighted with that.
“We’ll get him home and have a look at him and go from there.”
Fourth-placed Grey Dawning could be among Jango Baie’s rivals should he turn out in the Bowl at the Grand National meeting.
His trainer Dan Skelton said: “It was a brilliant run. As I said to everyone beforehand, however he runs it will be as good as we’ve got and that’s what we had – he gave it his all.
“He finished fourth and there’s no grumbling. At the two fences after the water jump second time around, for some reason he got himself in half a pickle over them, but it’s irrelevant to the finishing position – we’d have been fourth whatever.
“He’s run his socks off and the winner is very, very, very good. I was surprised how he took off like that.
“I’m very proud of how our horse has run. I thought par was fourth and we’ve done that. We haven’t given anything away out there.
“He’ll go to Aintree – he’s an older horse now. If he goes there and finishes sixth we’ve got a long summer and can get him ready for the Betfair Chase and he can come back here next year and run in the Ryanair Chase.
“We did that with Protektorat. I feel if you have them at their absolute best for a Gold Cup and you don’t win it, you don’t win it the second time.”
Haiti Couleurs was a well-fancied 6-1 chance for Rebecca Curtis but after setting out to make most under Sean Bowen, he dropped away quickly and was pulled up.
“I think he was just on his head a little bit with the ground being so good,” said Curtis
“Sean said he didn’t have the same zest as he had before and some of the fences felt bigger. Maybe it’s the end of a long season and he wasn’t quite at his best, or it could be a combination of that ground and the fact they go a lot faster in a Gold Cup.
“He’s entitled off his rating to be in this race and it’s been such good ground all week I don’t think he’s been able to get going, there’s barely any soft in that ground.
“We will have to see about Aintree (for the Grand National) and that could be a big ask off his weight.
“He’s had some battles this year and in the Welsh National he had a hard race, then the Denman was on heavy ground. So maybe he needs space between his races and really fresh.”
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