Owner Michael Buckley says the dream goal for Constitution Hill would be the Melbourne Cup at Flemington towards the end of 2026, with other Flat races under consideration en route to Australia, including the Sky Bet Ebor.
Speaking on Racing TV's Luck On Sunday programme just two days on from the horse's fine Flat debut when landing the SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes by nine and a half lengths at Southwell, Buckley revealed a Flat plan of sorts, but didn't rule out another crack at the Unibet Champion Hurdle beforehand.
He said: "I'm due to go to Cheltenham on Tuesday (of the Festival) and if he runs it will be very, very hard on my heart. And if he doesn't run and something (else) wins... I really don't want to sound disrespectful to Gordon (Elliott), Dan (Skelton) or anyone, but whatever those horses do - none of them have been winning by 20 lengths or breaking track records or other things - I'm going to think, well, we could have won that race.
"So the question is do I want to watch a race that's hard on my head or hard on my heart? Because it's going to be hard on one of them, whichever way we go.
"Anyway, the horse is going to do the schooling and Nicky will tell me.
"Somebody actually involved in the Champion Hurdle - and I'm not going to go any further than that - called me yesterday to say how happy they were to see the horse back. And said they wouldn't dream of telling me or Nicky what to do, Nicky is so experienced with horses, but his last words to me were 'I hope you run at Cheltenham, because to be honest for anybody who wins that race, it'll be hollow without you there as you've got the best horse'.
"That's from somebody else who is involved in the race. I said, gosh that's a kind thing to say, to which he said 'well, 20 or 30 years ago I mightn't have felt that, or said it, but that's how I feel today anyway!'"
'One hell of a swansong'
Buckley admits that no decision has been made over Cheltenham just yet, but has sympathy for Henderson who is on record saying how he changes his mind on the subject almost daily.
Buckley said: "I know how he feels and he's right. We are both kind of decent people, I think. We certainly care like hell about our horses. We don't want to see the horse fall, we don't want to see the horse do something that threatens his very existence, and we certainly don't want to do something that hurts Nico (De Boinville, jockey). And we don't want to do something that disappoints everybody, most of all ourselves.
"But on the other hand you can see how much the horse is loved and people would like to see him run.
"I did say to Nicky yesterday, can we just agree on one thing then - whatever we decide about Cheltenham, let's for the rest of this year concentrate on a Flat campaign and if it doesn't go well - either you'll have run on the Tuesday or you won't - but you can always come back and try it (hurdling) again the following year.
"Let's this year concentrate on the Flat after a fortnight's time. In a sense it (winning so impressively at Southwell) made it more confusing, but for me anyway - putting Tuesday aside - if he doesn't run (in the Champion Hurdle) I don't see him running over hurdles again this year, in 2026. But if he ran and let's say he fell, obviously he would never run over hurdles again ever.
"If he ran and won, it would be one hell of a swansong and it would kind of put a few demons to bed for me, I must say. But I'm not saying if things didn't go well on the Flat that we mightn't come back in a year and say let's try and defend it (Champion Hurdle) - I don't know."
Ebor option ahead of trip to Melbourne
So how might a Flat campaign look and what sort of distance would be optimum on the level for Constitution Hill?
Buckley says that the trainer seriously doubts two and a half miles of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot would be a realistic assignment, but two-mile targets have already been discussed.
He said: "I think we need to make a plan, we can always change it along the way.
"The horse should be running around about the end of August, the beginning of September, in either the Ebor, or there's a race at Goodwood, or in the Irish St Leger, with a view to going to Melbourne.
"I think he'll stay two miles on the Flat. Nicky was the one who came out with the Ascot Gold Cup as a joke to John Gosden when they were at some lunch together. It was a joke, but Nicky doesn't think that he will stay that two and a half miles.
"If you're asking me today, I would like that (Melbourne Cup) - it's a decent distance away, you can plan a campaign and you've got to get high enough in the handicap to get in. That's what I'd like to aim at.
"As far as I know, he doesn't have anything that would prevent him from passing (the vet checks), and Nicky will make sure to have a video of him and the way he trots, as he's not much of a trotter. He seems okay when he's galloping, though!
"Nicky wants to keep him on kinder ground, and there are Listed races in France as well that we could consider. We need to care for him as he's special, but let's hope he has a long, happy time providing occasions like Friday, as it was very special."
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