Timeform have handed Constitution Hill a rating of 106P following his sparkling winning debut on the Flat at Southwell on Friday evening.
Nicky Henderson’s charge drew a widening nine-and-a-half lengths clear of Square Necker in the SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes under a motionless Oisin Murphy.
To put the rating into context, the leading stayer Trawlerman has a Timeform master rating of 127 while last year’s Betfred Derby hero Lambourn is on 121.
The P attached to Constitution Hill’s figure means the Timeform handicappers feel the horse is capable of much better.
The report on the Southwell success also alluded to the dilemma now facing connections.
"A race - and an evening - all about one horse, Constitution Hill, who'd landed the 2023 Champion Hurdle among a sequence of 8 straight Grade 1 hurdles, the second of which had catapulted him to rarefied air in Timeform's long and proud history of rating horses, but who found himself very much on the comeback trail following 3 falls and a listless run at Punchestown across his last 4 starts.
"The £40k on offer ensured a full field of declarations - and even a slight doubt earlier in the week as to whether or not the headline act would get into the race - but no opposition that could have turned up would have got close to him in this form, indeed such was his authority on the night that this makes his future arguably more uncertain than it was beforehand as his brilliance - most of which seems to be intact - could lead connections, who are rightfully fearful of the damage another fall could do, to explore a Flat campaign that could take him to the highest level via something like the John Porter at Newbury, an unenviable decision given the stakes involved and the public affection for the horse."
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