Constitution Hill survives scare to make it 10 out of 10 in Unibet Hurdle

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.

He will face much more polished opponents than Brentford Hope in the Champion Hurdle on 11 March, a race that he won with ease in 2023 but missed due to an infection last year. The last-flight hiccup aside, however, Saturday’s race was a hurdling masterclass, as Constitution Hill’s cruising speed between the obstacles and his accuracy on arrival – at the first seven, at least – allowed him to canter throughout.

“It was good bar the last,” De Boinville said. “That gave everyone a heart attack, myself included. He was just half-asleep, I’d say that if I‘d woken him up after the second-last, you’d be going forward [at the final flight] but he was doing it so easy. I just said to the boss [Nicky Henderson, Constitution Hill’s trainer] that we’re going to have to work him next week because he’s had an easy time of it here.

“I’ve always said that he’s the horse of a lifetime, and everything went to plan, bar the last. He felt as good as ever. I don’t know if he can be better, but he was good.”

Henderson had not seen his gelding’s late mistake in the immediate aftermath of the race, but said that following his interrupted season last year, the current campaign has “just been brilliant all the way through, it’s nearly been too straightforward”.

Henderson added: “It was quite a good idea to get a mistake out of the way before March. It’s the first time we’ve seen him do anything like that, but he was very long [at the last] in the Champion Hurdle and now he’s decided to do it the other way. He just wasn’t doing much and it was maybe a little bit of boredom.”

There was nothing in this performance to shift Constitution Hill’s Cheltenham odds either way and he remains favourite for the Champion Hurdle at a top price of 4-5 with Paddy Power. He will be a fair bit closer to Saturday’s SP, however, if one or both of Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead, the 4-1 joint second-favourites, take up an alternative engagement in the Mares’ Hurdle the same afternoon.

While Constitution Hill was the undoubted star attraction of the day, many punters will also have taken note of East India Dock’s impressive success in the Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle earlier on the card. James Owen’s four-year-old remains unbeaten after three starts over jumps and is now 7-2 second-favourite for the Triumph Hurdle on 14 March, behind only Henderson’s recent French import Lulamba, an impressive winner at Ascot last week.