Trainer Nicky Henderson and owner Michael Buckley are still mulling over the options for Constitution Hill after his third fall in four starts at Newcastle on Saturday, but the simple fact that Henderson floated the question “can we go on asking him to do it?” in the immediate aftermath suggests that, in his heart, he already knows the answer. Whatever else might beckon for the eight-year-old – and a recent 160+ rating over timber suggests that he could compete at a very decent level on the Flat – this is a horse that should not be asked to jump a hurdle in public again.
Henderson’s competitive streak is as fierce as ever after nearly half a century in the game, and so too his appetite for a challenge. As such, it would be odd if the urge to attempt a repeat of Sprinter Sacre’s unlikely return to Grade One-winning form at the 2016 festival was not nagging away at the back of his mind somewhere. Sprinter Sacre’s second Champion Chase victory was one of the great Cheltenham moments of recent decades, and Constitution Hill, after all, set off as the 4-11 favourite for the Champion Hurdle just eight months ago, with an unbeaten 10-race record to his name.
