Betfair ambassador Paul Nicholls

Constitution Hill at Southwell: Paul Nicholls would have taken different approach

By Sporting Life

Horse Racing

Fri February 20, 2026 · 1h ago

Paul Nicholls says if he was training Constitution Hill the nine-year-old would not be making his Flat debut at Southwell this evening.

Nicky Henderson's charge makes his Flat debut in the SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes at 19:30 after falling in three of last his last four starts over hurdles, including the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle on his one outing this season.

However, if a bid to regain the Unibet Champion Hurdle crown is a realistic proposition, the former champion trainer feels the horse would have been better served by running elsewhere last weekend.

Speaking to Betfair, their ambassador said: "There has been plenty of publicity about Constitution Hill running on the Flat on Friday this week. I'm different to Nicky Henderson, who is obviously a fantastic trainer, in that, if Constitution Hill were my horse, I would have run him in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton last weekend.

"I know he has had a fall but if you are thinking about running him in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival next month, if he had cantered around Wincanton he would probably have won with his head in his chest and it would have done him good.

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"What will be achieved by running him on the Flat, I don't know. Nicky is in a no-win situation in that, if Constitution Hill wins great, if he doesn't win, they will all be crabbing him. But Nicky knows what he is doing so you have to trust him and his belief in his horse.

"There is a lot of hype about nothing really. It is good to see Constitution Hill out there again, but you are not going to learn anything about him by running him on the Flat.

"Remember, he ran in a point-to-point and got beat. He is by Blue Bresil and you do not see too many Blue Bresil’s win on the Flat, but he is a high-class horse so let's see what happens. Would I have ever sent one of my hurdling stars on the Flat ahead of the Cheltenham Festival? Definitely not. If Big Buck's, say, had run on the Flat over a mile-and-a-half we would still be looking for him."

How would Constitution Hill fare in the Champion Hurdle?

Despite the unorthodox prep race, Nicholls feels we could still see Constitution Hill in action at Cheltenham.

"It would not surprise me if Constitution Hill were to run in the Champion Hurdle, but whether he will win I don't know. He has got to get over two or three falls, but he is still a class horse and will probably be the best horse in the field. There is a lot of pressure on Nicky and racing for him to run.

That said, I do have a runner in tonight's race, Nardaran, but that's only because Nicky wanted a pacemaker and offered me a case of champagne to enter him. I'm joking, of course. Nardaran has been working away, he can't run on soft ground, so we have been waiting for better ground and may be waiting for a while yet. He has had a run on the Flat so we thought we would let him have a day out, go and enjoy himself. If he gets placed, we will be delighted."

Constitution Hill at Southwell: Paul Nicholls would have taken different approach

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