CONSTITUTION HILL made a “ridiculous” return to action at Newcastle – and is now the odds-on favourite for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.
On the back of an unbeaten first campaign over obstacles – capped by a 22-length romp in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last spring – the Nicky Henderson five-year-old traded as the 5-4 market leader for the National Hunt Festival’s opening-day feature.
But Constitution Hill is no bigger than 8-11 – with some layers going 4-7 – after a thundering comeback triumph in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle.
Hurdling with fluency at the head of the five-runner field, Constitution Hill and his motionless jockey Nico de Boinville extended clear from the second-last flight to humble stablemate Epatante – the mare won the race in 2020 before dead-heating with yesterday’s third Not So Sleepy 12 months ago – by an effortless 12 lengths.
“What we saw last year looked pretty freakish,” beamed Henderson, a record eight-time Champion Hurdle winner.
“The stats, the times – everything said, ‘This is a freak!’
“I couldn’t have been happier with Epatante, but for him to do that to her when she has won it one and a half times in the last two years is ridiculous.”
Constitution Hill, sold to long-standing Henderson patron Michael Buckley by former Seven Barrows stable jockey Barry Geraghty, is notoriously lazy on the Upper Lambourn gallops.
“If I pulled out 30 horses, and he was in the middle of them, you wouldn’t pick him out in a million years,” added the trainer, who will now choose between sending the winner to the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park on Boxing Day or the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown three days later.
“That’s half the beauty of him – his temperament – but Nico knows where the button is. And, when you press it, it’s extraordinary.”
De Boinville, whose mount had been withdrawn from a planned reappearance at Ascot last Saturday, reported: “He was just breathtaking today – he gave me such a good feel.
“It was just a case of going through those gears. He is very slick when you ask him to do it.”
As Constitution Hill’s odds tightened, the unbeaten Honeysuckle was eased to a best-priced 9-2 to become the first mare in Cheltenham history to capture the Champion Hurdle three times.
“I think everybody would like us to meet in March,” said Henderson. “It will be a big day, won’t it?”
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