Nicky Henderson still one short of 2000 winners

A Media Luz

Nicky Henderson was left waiting for his milestone day but it was a day that Conor O'Farrell will be hoping to forget.

Henderson now needs just one more winner for 2000 career winners after A Media Luz became the latest Cheltenham Festival prospect to roll off the productions line at Henderson's Seven Barrows yard when she won the Corona and Three Jolly Butchers Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle at Huntingdon.

The filly, who had the class on the Flat to be sixth in the Prix de Dianne at Chantilly last June, has not had an easy transition to hurdling since she arrived at the Henderson stable. She pulled far too hard for her own - and jockey Barry Geraghty's - good at Cheltenham in December, found stable companion Grandouet way too good for her at Newbury 18 days later and then fell two out at Kempton Park with the race seemingly at her mercy.

However, there was little sense of fourth time lucky as A Media Luz came through what was little more than a paid workout as Geraghty took up the lead after the third-last and the filly beat Pantxoa, who was conceding the winner 15lbs, by 18 lengths. "She's a nice filly but it's taken time for her and us to get to know each other really," Henderson said. "Her first run at Cheltenham was a total disaster. I wouldn't say she was too free, she just bolted with Barry, then she's gradually got the hang of this and today in a small field, she was pretty sensible. She's learning all the time."

The lesson for Henderson was simple enough. A Media Luz was beating a 129-rated horse on advantageous terms with Pantxoa's penalty for two previous victories and any thoughts of the JCV Triumph Hurdle were pushed aside in favour of the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle - although Henderson admitted to a worry of just what the handicapper might do in the interim.

"I'd like to go to the Fred Winter with her, that's always been the objective and I think that's where she belongs. Grandouet beat her at Newbury pretty comfortably and that tells you all you need to know."

What O'Farrell knows now - even if he did not before - is that no race is won simply by jumping the last. The 5lb claimer was riding Arrayan, who was chasing a hat-trick for the jockey and trainer David Pipe in a novice handicap hurdle at Taunton and well clear coming to the last.

The horse jumped well enough and was away from the hurdle when O'Farrell lost his right iron and fell out of the saddle. That left Giles Hawkins to pick up the win on Highway Code whose trainer, Richard Lee, was left to reflect on the fickle nature of jump racing.

Highway Code had himself looked set to win at Warwick four weeks ago until falling at the last. "I think it was poetic justice," Lee said. "He should have won at Warwick. The handicapper put him up 9lbs for falling. It depends which way you look at it; if he had won - and he'd put him up nine - I wouldn't have minded but to come and win this race, like this, is quite amazing. We've had lucky winners before, but nothing quite like that."

Henderson continues the quest for that 2000th winner at Kempton where his runners include Punchestowns who drops in distance, after a lacklustre run over three miles at Cheltenham last month, for the 40% Better Off On Betfair SP Graduation Chase.

Paul Wheeler

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