|
The star attraction of National Hunt racing, jumps enthusiasts were left devasted when veteran trainer Nicky Henderson revealed that Constitution Hill, a regular favourite for those who bet on horse racing, was unfit to defend his Champion Hurdle title just one week out from the 2024 Cheltenham Festival.
The feeling of disappointment soon turned to worry amongst the racing community, as Constitution Hill’s illness worsened. The indomitable hurdler was admitted to a veterinary hospital for colic, which is a life-threatening disease to horses, and it was feared by fans and pundits alike that he may never race again.
After an anxious wait, however, it appears Constitution Hill has been on the mend and is set to reappear this season after all—much to the delight of racing enthusiasts.
In a statement on the official Seven Barrows X account, Henderson wrote: “Constitution Hill is in particularly good form. He is still on the burly side following his summer holiday but his work is starting to build up for his intended re-appearance in the Fighting Fight.
“He has had a wind operation a few weeks ago, which we feel might help him.”
Those couple of sentences resulted in a massive sigh of relief from racing fans and pundits alike. It’s now all systems go for Newcastle for the Fighting Fight Hurdle at the end of November.
The seven-year-old won the Grade 1 contest by 12 lengths from his stablemate Epatante in 2022 and was set to attempt to defend his crown last year, only for the meeting to be abandoned due to soft ground. There’s no question that fans will flock to the northeast in their numbers this year.
That wasted 12-hour round trip from Seven Barrows in Lambourn to Newcastle Racecourse pretty much set the tone for the rest of Constitution Hill’s nightmarish season. A week later, he had another failed reappearance attempt as he missed a hurdle outing at Ascot due to the ground being too quick.
It was third time lucky for Constitution Hill as he finally made his seasonal debut in the prestigious Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, winning the race for a second time as he romped home easily under regular rider Nico de Boinville to beat the Paul Nicholls-trained Rubaud by almost 10 lengths.
Little did we know that that would be the only time we saw Constitution Hill on the racecourse in the 2023-24 season.
Due to an unsatisfactory scope, he missed the International Hurdle at Cheltenham in January, which was set to be his final Festival preparation.
Things went from bad to worse when a training exercise on the all-weather at Kempton flagged further issues with Constitution Hill. The horse didn’t appear to be his usual self in a video of the workout that viral on social media, and a scope found evidence of mucus.
That’s when it first became clear to the public that something wasn’t right with Constitution Hill. The good news is that he’s on the right track to reappear for the first time since Boxing Day at Newcastle, and it will be a joy to behold seeing him back on the racecourse.
