It is billed as “Trials Day” ahead of the four-day Festival meeting here which opens in just over six weeks, but 20,000 spectators were very much living in the moment here on Saturday as Constitution Hill, perhaps the finest hurdler of all time, went to post for the Unibet Hurdle as a 1-12 favourite, looking to extend his perfect nine-from-nine career record into double figures. And, as it turned out, one moment in particular: the split-second when he got in too close to the last, before paddling through and keeping his partnership with Nico de Boinville intact.
Constitution Hill’s starting price – some were brave, or confident, enough to back him from 1-10 to 1-12 at the off – ensured that he had already set one new mark, as the hottest favourite to race at Cheltenham this century. For a heart-stopping instant, though, it seemed that he might also be the shortest-priced loser, before the eight-year-old regained his momentum and set off up the hill, crossing the line three lengths in front of Brentford Hope, the 10-1 second-favourite.
