Nicky Henderson will assess conditions at Newbury on Wednesday as he considers stepping Constitution Hill up in class for the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes at the weekend.
Saturday's Group Three contest, better known as the John Porter, would represent a significant test for the nine-year-old following his two wins to date on the level at Southwell and Kempton.
Both of those were on the all-weather and the trainer admits ground conditions will be key to the decision over whether to run on Saturday.
"Well, I do have reservations because it's been a long dry spell and we're having a lot of trouble on the Jumps tracks," he said.
"But let's hope we can run. I spoke to Michael (Buckley) on Monday night and I'll pop over on Wednesday and have a look to see what it is before declarations on Thursday," he said.
And Henderson hasn't been surprised that Constitution Hill has been able to make a quick impact on the Flat following the switch away from hurdling following falls in three of his last four starts.
“We've always known he's got tons of talent. When you have jockeys like Oisin (Murphy) and Ryan (Moore), it wasn't difficult just to say - ‘look, this isn't a big, heavy, slow, one paced hurdler. This has got gears.’ - and they both got off and said a mile and a half is as far as you need to go. That's how quick he is. He is a natural," he added.
Constitution Hill at Newbury - latest betting on the John Porter
Paddy Power & Sky Bet odds: 2 Convergent, 3 Al Aasy, Constitution Hill, 9/2 Pride Of Arras, 11/2 Eydon, 7 Phantom Flight, 10 Lion’s Pride, 16 Bellum Justum, Tenability, 20 Burdett Roadoe
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