'I gave myself a present' - Nicky Henderson celebrates his 75th birthday with a double at Hereford

Nicky Henderson celebrated his 75th birthday with a Hereford double courtesy of Soomaroy and Laguna Beach, both ridden by Nico de Boinville.

Soomaroy took division one of the 2m maiden hurdle before Laguna Beach followed up in the 2m3½f maiden, with both horses building on promising debuts last month when they finished second and third respectively.

“I gave myself a present too,” said Henderson. “They are two nice young horses who are going the right way. Their first runs were good and they’ve backed it up by winning today."

Soomaroy was ridden to the lead with one hurdle to jump and finished strongly to justify 10-11 favouritism.

“I like Soomaroy a lot. He’ll stay further in time, but Nico gave them both lovely rides. They’re uncomplicated horses and we said to ride them in a similar way,” said Henderson.

Laguna Beach returned at 11-2 ahead of Catchintsavo, with odds-on favourite Loaded And Locked ten lengths back in third.

“His jumping was a bit untidy at Sandown, which was disappointing, but he improved plenty and was slick today," added Henderson.

He watched the race at his Lambourn base with two of Laguna Beach's owners, Michael Buckley and Mike Hankin, and added: “We watched it all together, which was nice, and Soomaroy is owned by a great bunch of mates, so it was very good. You couldn’t have had a better birthday.

“We’re still going strong and have some very good horses. I intend to keep going, but it won’t be for another 75 I can assure you!”

Milestone for McLernon

Richie McLernon was also celebrating after riding his 500th British winner on JP McManus’s Jamaicaine in the 2m3½f mares’ novice handicap hurdle.

Read more here

Group 1 Flat performer Tashkhan makes winning start over hurdles as part of Brian Hughes treble 

'He's in the zone at home' - Syd Hosie hopes well-handicapped winner can go in again next week at Exeter 

Now in its 15th year, the Racing Post Annual is firmly established as the perfect Christmas gift for any horseracing fan. With a glittering line-up of the year's best horses and races, this 208-page book is a must for every horseracing fan. Order your copy here or call 01933 304776.