Nicky Henderson has won virtually all of the major prizes in the National Hunt game as handler for the young racing horse Long Run, but the most prestigious horse race of the year continued to elude him, until now. Long Run was the 7-2 favorite to win the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, and amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen did not disappoint as Long Run finished first ahead of runner-up Denman and third place finisher Kauto Star.

The one major disappointment of the race was last year's winner Imperial Commander, who was pulled up along the straight. Henderson is thrilled with the victory and he is excited about the prospects for Long Run going forward. The horse is only six years old, so there is a lot of racing left in him.

Transcend, the Japanese wonder horse, has been entered into the $10 million Dubai World Cup taking place later this month. Transcend is a five year old champion of the Japan Cup Dirt and the February Stakes races, and he will join the Japan Racing Association's other two-time defending horse of the year Buena Vista in the prestigious Dubai horse race.

Transcend was slated to run in the Grade Two Godolphin Mile, but his string of recent red-hot performances prompted his trainer Takayuki Yasuda to enter him in the Dubai World Cup instead. Another Japanese champion horse, Victoire Pisa, will also be among the top quality field at the 2,000 meter race held at Meydan Racecourse. With three Japanese horses in the running this year, perhaps there is a chance one of them will make history as the first Japanese horse to win the world's richest race, and receive the $6 million payout to the winner.

© rogerbarker2

The cardinal sin of horse betting would be taking wild bets. Don't start taking decision at the whim of the moment. The most important thing is to remain disciplined throughout the whole experience of horse betting