"Everyone is very pleased with him" - Shishkin returns to full training

Shishkin was an integral part of the race of the season during 2021/22, as Henderson's star defeated Energumene in a thrilling renewal of the Clarence House Chase at Ascot. Viewers were eagerly awaiting a rematch of that titanic clash in the Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Sadly, it wasn't to be, as Shishkin was pulled up after just two fences on treacherously soft ground.

Veterinary examinations following that flop discovered that Shishkin was suffering from a rare bone condition. Henderson immediately wrote off the rest of the season, in the hope of having Shishkin ready for the start of the upcoming campaign. Thankfully, a period of rest and recuperation seems to have done the trick.

He’s been given the green light to return to full training. " Henderson told the press. "He’s been back for a few weeks – everyone is very pleased with him."

"The injury was very complicated and we’ve tried to explain it as simply as we can. When you take a bone scan, you’re trying to find hotspots and you usually look for one, but he had five."

"The bone condition has been seen in horses before, but it’s very rare and just typical that he suffered from it. These issues are all part of the game because something usually comes up and hits you in the face, but maybe not as rare as this. The good news is that it's gone and these scans have shown no signs of any hotspots."

"He’s done a lot of work with the Vigors family and has spent time on the horsewalker doing a lot of build-up work."

"I can remember that great race at Ascot and that’s the race everyone should be talking about, not the Champion Chase. That was the best race of the season and we’ll remember him for that. We might go for that race again, but for now we’ll take it steady."

Henderson copped a tremendous amount of flack last December, when he withdrew Shishkin from the Tingle Creek after the ground at Sandown came up extremely soft. Now that his star chaser is back in full training, Henderson has again identified that Grade One as the ideal setting for Shishkin's return - providing the ground is decent.

"The Tingle Creek on December 3 is possible, but I am not going to say he’ll definitely make it there because if he doesn’t people will scream." Henderson continued.

"It will be tight, but he’ll tell us when he’s ready and if we can get to Sandown then we’ll go. If not, we’ll go the same route as last year and look at the Desert Orchid Chase and then the Clarence House."

"The great thing about these horses is that they tell you if they’re ready. He’ll do that himself, it’s not up to me. It’s all about if he’s happy."

In Shishkin's absence, Energumene hacked up in the Champion Chase before rounding off his season with another easy victory at Punchestown. Unibet make Energumene their 9/4 favourite for the 2023 Champion Chase ahead of Shishkin, who can be backed at 4/1.