Champion Hurdle hero Constitution Hill has been declared to take on four rivals in the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle over 2m at Newcastle on Saturday.
No trainer has won more renewals of this race than Nicky Henderson who boasts eight victories to his name. The master of Seven Barrows has won the 2m Grade One with the likes of My Tent Or Yours, Buveur d’Air and Epatante as well as Constitution Hill 12 months ago.
Henderson said: “Everything’s been going well.
"He’s had a couple of away days and we’re all ready. It’s a long season ahead so there’s some room for improvement but I’m very happy with where we are. We’ve used the Fighting Fifth as a starting point with our Champion Hurdle horses for many years now."
Faced with the daunting task of trying to cause a huge upset are the quartet of Not So Sleepy, Love Envoi, You Wear It Well and the Scottish-trained Benson.
Not So Sleepy dead-heated with Epatante in the 2021 running of this race, and the 11-year-old will turn up at Gosforth Park to participate in the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle for a third consecutive year.
Love Envoi is set to make her seasonal reappearance in this contest after a productive campaign in 2022/23. The Harry Fry-trained mare is the second highest-rated runner in this, despite being rated 22lbs inferior to Constitution Hill. You Wear It Well warmed up for this assignment with a fine win on her seasonal comeback at Wetherby in the Mares’ Hurdle (Listed), and the Jamie Snowden yard have made a fine start to this National Hunt season.
Benson posted a career-best to win the Morebattle Hurdle last season but has never won at Graded level. The eight-year-old completes the field of five.
Elsewhere on the card, six-time Grade One winner Shishkin has been declared to face seven in the BetMGM Rehearsal Handicap Chase.
The nine-year-old refused to race at Ascot last Saturday, and connections have acted quickly to use this race as a prep run ahead of the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day.
Consequently, Shishkin’s eight rivals now have to carry significantly less weight with the presence of such a high-class horse in the final race of the day. Among those rivals are the hat-trick seeking Elvis Mail and Empire Steel who both made their seasonal reappearances at Kelso last month.
Meanwhile, Topham Chase winner Bill Baxter, Ga Law and Datsalrightgino are doubly declared both in the Rehearsal and the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org
