Constitution Hill Cheltenham verdict given as Nicky Henderson admits he’s changed his mind | Racing | Sport
A decision will have to be made soon regarding Constitution Hill (Image: Getty)
Constitution Hill was back to his brilliant best when winning on the Flat at Southwell. But a question now lingers: does he run at the Cheltenham Festival?
The nine-year-old gelding sent the racing world into raptures earlier this month as he made his debut on the level and blew away some potentially useful rivals. He had fallen in three of his last four starts over hurdles. Now, connections are weighing up whether to have a tilt at the Cheltenham Festival’s Champion Hurdle, which he won in 2023 on the steel but blundered in last year, or prepare for a late-summer Flat campaign.
Trainer Nicky Henderson admitted this week: “I promise you, it is 50-50 [between Cheltenham and the Flat]. Every day, I change my mind.” So Express Sport has a say regarding what the future should hold for Constitution Hill.
David Yates
Why can’t he do both? By common agreement, the 2026 Champion Hurdle is there for the taking, and Constitution Hill will take it if he stays on all fours. He can go on to the Flat afterwards, probably starting out in the Group 3 John Porter Stakes at Newbury in April. But how long do people think this new career on the Flat will last?
Constitution Hill is now nine years old and even great racehorses don’t get better at that age. By all means, have a look at a Flat campaign but – provided connections are happy to go to Cheltenham – let’s win the Champion Hurdle first.
The gelding romped to Champion Hurdle success in 2023 (Image: Getty)
Ben Crawford
Constitution Hill’s doddle around Southwell was a racing moment few who watched on will forget, so why potentially rob fans of more?
Hendo’s superstar is already an icon of the sport, proven by the fact that he attracted over 3,000 people to rural Nottinghamshire on a random Friday in February. Yes, winning another Champion Hurdle would vindicate his absence in 2024 and fall in 2025. But the risk here simply does not outweigh an admittedly legendary reward.
As owner Michael Buckley believes, the horse is struggling mentally with his obstacles, having been so proficient over them in the past. Evidently, no amount of schooling seems to have been able to solve his issue. Pitchforks would swiftly appear if he runs at this year’s Festival and blunders again, never mind if he injures himself severely, God forbid.
The Melbourne Cup, one of many potential treasures spoken of by connections, is worth almost £2.4million to the winner in 2026. That’s a whisker away from half of the entire prize pot offered at the Cheltenham Festival last year, albeit an unlikely target. Keep the boy on the level. He isn’t getting any younger, is clearly beloved and you avoid the possibility of a disaster that words would not be able to describe.
Henderson’s animal has fallen three times in his last four National Hunt starts (Image: Getty)
Jason Heavey
The head says one thing… the heart says another. Missing Cheltenham and wrapping him in cotton wool to focus on a Flat campaign is the “safe” option and entirely logical after his demolition job at Southwell last Friday. That’s what the head says. But the heart is screaming: “Don’t always play it safe or you’ll die wondering.” Running Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle may seem like folly after crunching falls in three of his last four hurdle races.
But he is the best horse in what will be a below-par field by some distance and victory would complete one of the most remarkable training performances in the history of the sport of kings. Nicky Henderson already has plenty of those on his CV – Sprinter Sacre in 2016 the best – but victory in the Champion Hurdle would top everything after the challenges Constitution Hill and his trainer have faced in recent years.
There is a risk that he falls again. The absolute worst-case scenario is a fatal injury, and while it is statistically very unlikely, it is at the forefront of every racing lover’s mind. It would be a PR disaster for the sport a few weeks ahead of the Grand National. But racing cannot allow itself to be cowed by perception otherwise it may as well give up as a sport.
This year’s Champion Hurdle is a weak race – it’s there for the taking. Constitution Hill’s schooling sessions under the watchful eye of jumping guru Yogi Breisner will tell Henderson and owner Michael Buckley plenty. Ultimately, winning a race or two on the Flat will be nothing compared to the spectacle and honour of gloriously galloping up the hill at Cheltenham. Constitution Hill is also nine years old and nine-year-olds rarely win Group races on the Flat. However, at nine he is in the prime of his National Hunt career. I hope he runs in the Champion Hurdle and writes himself into Cheltenham folklore… after all, fortune favours the brave.
Nico de Boinville steered the horse to the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival in 2022 (Image: Getty)
Steven Railston
The roar from the Southwell crowd when Constitution Hill breezed around the bend into the home straight was incredible through the TV, so I can only imagine what it was like to be there. It was brilliant to see the horse remind everyone of his talent after three falls, and a tailed off effort in Punchestown.
I’ve been fascinated by the subsequent debate about whether to keep him on the Flat or send him back over timber again. I really don’t envy Nicky Henderson and Michael Buckley, who will make the decision.
The sectionals from Constitution Hill’s performance at Southwell prove he could be a Group-class flat horse, and an adventure on the Flat would come attached with minimal risk. However, Constitution Hill was bred to be a jumps horse, and I can’t shake the feeling that they should give him a final crack at Cheltenham.
I was there when Honeysuckle brought the house down in 2023 with an emotional triumph in the Mares Hurdle, but the roof would probably blow off if Constitution Hill regained his Champion Hurdle crown. There are eight hurdles to jump in the Champion Hurdle. By all accounts, Constitution Hill has been schooling brilliantly, so I’d give him a final opportunity to race over hurdles on the opening day of Cheltenham.
There are many options open to the nine-year-old (Image: Getty)
Jon Lees
Nicky Henderson will be taking a huge risk if he decides to run Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle, and he knows it. It is a massive decision for Britain’s winning most Cheltenham Festival trainer and one he admits is a ’50-50′ call.
Running Constitution Hill on the Flat has probably made the dilemma even tougher. While the successful excursion to Southwell opened a new, and potentially lucrative alternative career for the star, it also revealed just how popular the horse is with the public.
As the trainer admitted afterwards all that positive publicity would be ‘undone in 10 seconds’ if he suffered a fall, or worse, at Cheltenham. The only good outcome from a trip to Cheltenham would be a second Champion Hurdle victory and, with a record of three falls from his last three jumps races, that cannot be guaranteed.
