If it is possible to win one of Cheltenham’s championship races too easily, then Constitution Hill did just that here on Tuesday, as he accelerated nine lengths clear of State Man, Ireland’s champion over hurdles, under a hand ride to add the 2023 Champion Hurdle to his unbeaten record. He went into the race as the hottest favourite in its history, and emerged with his status as one of the best hurdlers of all time duly confirmed, but National Hunt fans will now wonder if they will see a fresh question answered: is there anything that Constitution Hill cannot do?
There are now six “1s” in front of his name after Tuesday’s effortless success, achieved with a minimum of fuss after Constitution Hill’s rider, Nico de Boinville, sat within striking distance of the lead throughout before clearing away for home off the final turn. For the sixth time in a row, Constitution Hill’s rivals failed to scratch the surface of his talent, to gain even a hint of what still lies beneath.
And if he sticks to two-mile Grade One hurdles, along the lines of his three-race campaign so far this season, it seems all but certain that no rival ever will. The win streak will extend, his starting price will shorten with every fresh success and opposition to Nicky Henderson’s freakish gelding will, in all likelihood, begin to dry up.
That, in its way, would be one measure of Constitution Hill’s exceptional talent, a PS to the old racing maxim that you should never be frightened of one horse – “with the exception of Constitution Hill”. Arkle himself, after all, was a 1-10 chance for his final Gold Cup in 1966, with just four rivals to follow him home.
But it would tell us little more about a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and so it is tempting to seize on Henderson’s words in the winner’s enclosure afterwards as a sign that the trainer and Michael Buckley, Constitution Hill’s owner, are willing to think more expansively about the six-year-old’s future career.
“You can do anything with this horse,” Henderson said. “You could jump a fence, you could go three miles.
“He has had six races now and has barely come off the bridle but it won’t last forever so let’s enjoy it while we have got it. Sprinter [Sacre, Henderson’s dual Champion Chase winner] did amazing things for us and the emotion behind him for his comeback [in 2016] was unbelievable. This horse has got into those echelons after six races. It is an extraordinary thing to happen but he is an extraordinary horse. He is a freak.”
Whether Henderson’s nerves would stand up to seeing Constitution Hill jump a fence remains to be seen. “I’ve watery eyes, I always have had and I always will have,” he said, “but that would bring a tear to most eyes, when you see a horse quite like that, as I think that is pretty unique.
“I had 12 months [of nerves] but that is our life. I think as it gets closer and closer you get even more anxious. Have you done this or have you done that? There is a brilliant team behind him and they have done fantastic.
“One of these comes around in a lifetime. You have got to have a lot of horses to find one of these. This horse is going to extraordinary levels at the moment and we are lucky to be the custodian of him, but a lot of responsibility goes with it.”
Cheltenham 1.30 Hermes Allen (nb) 2.10 Gerri Colombe 2.50 San Salvador (nap) 3.30 Energumene 4.10 Delta Work 4.50 Dads Lad 5.30 Encanto Bruno
Huntingdon 1.50 Not Another Muddle 2.30 Moore Margaux 3.10 Feel Good Inc 3.50 Corey’s Courage 4.30 Enduring Love 5.10 Rock On Tommy 5.50 Westerninthepark
Newcastle 5.05 Land Legend 5.40 Arabian Storm 6.15 Mintnthat 6.45 Grand Libya 7.15 Walking On Clouds 7.45 South Dakota Sioux 8.15 Paddy K
Kempton 6.00 Maasai Mara 6.30 Woodstock 7.00 Brave Emperor 7.30 First Emperor 8.00 Hannah’s Return 8.30 Where’s Tom
De Boinville is sure that he would flourish over the bigger obstacles and the clamour for the new champion over hurdles to seek out a fresh challenge can only grow. William Hill priced up Constitution Hill at 6-4 for next year’s Arkle Trophy after Tuesday’s success, a price that largely reflects the uncertainty over his connections’ ambitions. He would be odds-on already if chasing was a definite plan.
Buckley and Henderson will likely take their time before plotting the next move for Constitution Hill this season, never mind next. A step up to two-and-a-half miles in the Aintree Hurdle next month is one possibility, and the four-week gap between Cheltenham and the Grand National meeting this year could make it an attractive option.
The lack of meaningful opposition over hurdles may never allow Constitution Hill to produce the kind of performance that would see him past Night Nurse, the greatest champion of hurdling’s golden era in the 1970s, in Timeform’s all-time list. He remains on 177, with a ‘p’ to denote improvement expected, 4lb behind Night Nurse, after Tuesday’s race, a mark based on his 22-length demolition of last year’s Supreme Novice Hurdle field.
“It underlines what an outstanding performance that was,” Martin Rigg, one of Timeform’s hurdles handicappers, said on Tuesday. “Even winning the Champion Hurdle by nine lengths hasn’t topped it. With any good horse, you normally find one achilles heel, but there doesn’t seem to be one with this horse.”
Six races into his career, Constitution Hill could still be anything. And if his connections decide to fully explore the depth of his talent, what an extraordinary ride it promises to be.
