Also in case anyone hadn't noticed Henderson can't even keep his story straight. First it was the wind op that had put him behind; then the horse was fit but didn't sparkle in a piece of work. We've even had a 'murky' tracheal wash thrown in for good measure along with "he'd be ruined for life" as the convincer that the trainer must know best.
It seems most likely he was bullish in an attempt to prevent Mullins from sending Chacun over, then we got word his bluff had failed he pulled Shishkin because it's his preference for an easier campaign. Nicky needs me as his PR man; "We were a bit behind due to the wind op and the dry weather so I couldn't get a prep run in. Then his recent work just wasn't good enough for me to want to pitch him straight into a Grade One out of novice company. He's a young horse (always have to sneak this in when you can) so I'm taking a long term view and he'll have a steadier build up to his main target this season before hopefully being ready to take in all the big races next year."