Constitution Hill outclassed his rivals to make a sparkling winning Flat debut in the SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes at Southwell.
Sent off the 6/4 favourite, he was always travelling powerfully behind the leaders under Oisin Murphy and sauntered to the front two furlongs out.
The champion jockey never had to ask his mount any question at all as he strode clear to beat market rival Square Necker to by nine-and-a-half lengths.
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Tearful Henderson in no rush to decide on targets
Constitution Hill returned to a tremendous reception and a tearful Nicky Henderson told ITV4: "I think he’s enjoyed himself. Racing to go and do that for him is lovely because it probably hasn’t been as much fun as it should have been.
“He has enjoyed it, Oisin did and we did in the end. Oisin said that he has a career here. We should probably have thought of this four years ago and we’d have been going around the world.
“It’s tears tonight but we’ve been through a few tears over the last year or so and it’s nice to be back with positive vibes. We’ve lots to look forward to and lots of decisions to make.
“We thought this would tell us what we ought to do and it does open up a lot of doors. We can do a lot of things and we have to think quite long and hard. It would be lovely to say we will do this but I don’t think we can at this moment.
“There are all sorts of options and of course it includes the Champion Hurdle. The only thing is he’s probably not a summer Flat horse but that (Southwell) rides quite quick. He stretched out really well.”
Murphy impressed with runaway success
Murphy was impressed with the performance, saying: “He felt like a machine at home and there wasn’t a lot of strength in depth to that race. If he was to continue on the Flat, he’s going to face tougher assignments but the feel was exactly the same today.
“For a big horse that has been jumping he has a lot of speed and is a joy to ride. It would have been very easy for me to blast off in front but I wanted to get in among them and give him an idea of what a Flat race is like because his next assignment, if he runs again on the Flat, will probably be in a Black Type race.”
A proud winning owner Michael Buckley was quick to thank the racegoers who packed the winners' enclosure to welcome Constitution Hill back.
“I’ve got to say when you hear people like this it makes me cry, it’s amazing. Nicky has always had this view that he was a special horse and today he has shown everybody. He is a little older than most horses that start out on the flat but he is something special. People love him and I love them for loving him.”
Latest betting for the Unibet Champion Hurdle
Constitution Hill is favourite with Paddy Power and Sky Bet for the Unibet Champion Hurdle.
Latest betting (non-runner/no bet): 2 Constitution Hill 9/4 The New Lion, 3 Brighterdaysahead, 7/2 Lossiemouth, 6 Golden Ace, 12 Ballyburn, 14 Poniros, 16 Alexei, Anzadam, 20 Tutti Quanti, 50 Casheldale Lad, Lucky Place, Wilful, Workahead
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