Henderson announces plans for Constitution Hill hurdles campaign

Constitution Hill to Stay Over Hurdles – Trainer Nicky Henderson

In a surprising twist, trainer Nicky Henderson has announced that Constitution Hill will continue competing in the hurdles this season. Despite discussions about switching to chasing over the summer, the unbeaten seven-time winner will remain focused on conquering the smaller obstacles.

The Champion Hurdle Aim

With six of his victories at Grade One level, including a dominant nine-length win in last season’s Champion Hurdle, another triumph in that prestigious race is now the ultimate goal for Constitution Hill.

“The news on Constitution Hill is that after a lot of deliberating and advice from everyone, he is going to stay over hurdles,” confirmed Henderson.

Henderson further explained their decision by stating that while Constitution Hill has shown great potential as a chaser during training sessions, they wanted to ensure his ability to handle longer distances before committing him to such races as the Gold Cup. The team believes there would be nothing gained by running in other top-tier chase events like Arkle or Ryanair Chase when their main target remains the coveted Champion Hurdle title.

“If you are going to run in anything, you might as well stick to what you know,” added Henderson. “Stamina was likely to be a major issue if we switched him up too soon.”

Aiming for Records and Potential Gold Cup Success

 Should Constitution Hill have pursued the chasing route, he would have aimed to join the elite club of horses that have won both the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup, just like Dawn Run. However, by staying over hurdles, Constitution Hill has a chance to match or even surpass previous three-time winners in the Champion Hurdle category. “The great thing is he is young enough (to break records). If you were going to go chasing it would have to be now,” expressed Henderson. As Constitution Hill turns six this year, there is still plenty of time for him to make history and potentially become one of the greatest hurdlers of all time.

A Well-Prepared Campaign

Henderson acknowledged their luck in having uncomplicated preparations over the past two years without any major setbacks. He emphasized how rare it is for a horse to maintain such consistency.

“We’ve had a really good run and you’ve got to have that luck,” said Henderson.

The Road Ahead

With their decision made, Constitution Hill will kick off his season at the Fighting Fifth before heading towards other significant races like Christmas Hurdle and Unibet International on Trials Day at Cheltenham. After these events come Aintree and Punchestown – tournaments where they can further showcase his hurdling prowess. Henderson also hinted at potential future changes but stressed that for now, focusing on hurdling makes sense given Constitution Hill’s remarkable speed in two-mile races. The team wants certainty regarding his stamina before considering longer distances. He concluded with optimism about breaking records due to Constitution Hill’s relatively young age: “Where we’ve been very lucky over the last two years is we’ve had very uncomplicated preparations. We want to run him as much as we can, and hopefully, he will continue to impress.”