Constitution Hill sparkles in Kempton spin

Champion Hurdle favourite had Tuesday racecourse gallop.

Constitution Hill was the star attraction as Nicky Henderson put several of his Cheltenham Festival contenders through their paces in a racecourse gallop at Kempton.

A trip to the Sunbury venue has become an annual event for the master of Seven Barrows as a means of putting the finishing touches to his big guns ahead of the the showpiece meeting in the Cotswolds.

The biggest gun of all bound for Prestbury Park in a fortnight’s time is Constitution Hill, who won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle by a staggering 22 lengths at last year’s Festival and will return as a red-hot favourite to provide his trainer with a ninth Champion Hurdle success.

Ridden by Nico de Boinville, the six-year-old was joined by stablemates Captain Morgs (Paul O’Brien) and Ahorsewithnoname (Daryl Jacob) on Tuesday morning and while Henderson admitted it is not easy to find work partners for his pre-eminent star, he was delighted with what he saw.

He said: “It all went to plan. It was difficult to do because, as I’ve been saying all week, I’ve been hunting the country for a miler that I was going to get to jump in halfway round the back straight!

“To be fair, the other two boys have done a great job there, because they’ve just done their own thing and Nico has done his own thing. It was two bits of work happening at once and they did a good job as they just minded themselves.

“I wouldn’t bother writing something titled ‘A day in the life of Constitution Hill’ as it’s about the most boring thing you could write! That’s except for days like this of course, when he comes and does what he loves doing.

“I haven’t had one who’s given you the problem of how to work him. We always used to put Sprinter Sacre and Simonsig together because when you’ve got two really good horses like that, if you do put them together you’ve got to have two seriously good riders.

“Constitution Hill is fit and he’ll have another piece of work at home, but it’s quite difficult at the moment without the grass. Good old Barney (Clifford, clerk of the course at Kempton) let’s us come along and do that and I love doing it.”

Nico de Boinville and Constitution Hill stretch clear at the end of their workout
Nico de Boinville and Constitution Hill stretch clear at the end of their workout (Zac Goodwin/PA)

Constitution Hill carries the colours of owner Michael Buckley, who was on hand to see his pride and joy.

He said: “I’m looking forward to it and it’ll be fun, I hope the horse puts on a good show. As we stand here today, he’s potentially the best horse I’ve ever had and perhaps he already is. He’s got to do it on the big day though.

“My nerves are chattering away and have been for weeks! When you get horses that are odds-on like that, the expectation is that he’s already won the race.

“I feel that it’s a rather sad fact of life that if he only wins by a length or two, everyone is going to feel a sense of disappointment. I’ll be thrilled of course, but he’s done a lot of showy things and I guess people are hoping for a show.

“We need two bits of luck, we need to get there in good shape and then we need Nico to have a bit of luck in-running and get him round without any issues and then hopefully we’ll win.”

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