The worst kept secret in racing has been confirmed: Nicky Henderson’s Constitution Hill stays over hurdles. No novice chasing campaign, no ambitious tilt for the Gold Cup, but a career racking up the records over the smaller obstacles beckons. It is no surprise.
It is no surprise because history tells us that Champion Hurdle winners don’t go novice chasing (whilst they hold the hurdling crown, the likes of Rock On Ruby and Faugheen switching to fences later in their careers). Dawn Run was the last one to do so in 1984 and she remains the only horse in history to win both the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup; a remarkable mare, a remarkable feat.
A feat that Constitution Hill’s owner Michael Buckley regularly mentioned in the spring as an ambition for his new jumps racing star. ‘Trying to do a Dawn Run’ became a familiar quote and it got racing fans thinking. Buckley is 77, Henderson is 72, perhaps they would throw caution to the wind with this horse, knowing that the chance to achieve the improbable would likely not come around again.
Alas, no. It is not the Henderson way. Here is a trainer that limits risk as much as he possibly can in order to succeed with his horses on the biggest stage. It’s one reason why he has trained 73 Cheltenham Festival winners.
The risks for Constitution Hill going over fences are plentiful. The bigger obstacles, obviously, for one, although he has the talent and physique to cope with that. The opposition, for two, given that, generally, the best jumps horses go over fences these days. And the Gold Cup trip, for three, which seems to have been the main sticking point.
This looks to be where the dream died. Owner fancies his wonder horse could become the next Dawn Run, trainer and jockey have doubts about his stamina for the task in hand. It appears the Champion Chase, a race in which Henderson has dominated with two genuine two-mile superstars in recent years, was never in the mix.
With that in mind, again, it is no surprise that he is sticking to hurdles. And, if he stays fit and healthy, he could conceivably become the most successful Champion Hurdle horse of all time.
Five horses have won the Champion Hurdle three times; Hatton’s Grace, Sir Ken, Persian War, See You Then and Istabraq, but none four, and the six-year-old Constitution Hill, with his best years ahead of him, has already won a Champion Hurdle at a shorter price than any of that quality quintet ever did.
The problem is, for fans of the sport, the lack of competition and you can quite easily argue the Champion Hurdle is not the race it used to be.
Gone are the majority of potential recruits from the Flat lured away by international riches. Plenty of bright hurdling prospects are fast-tracked over fences, too. Others have alternative options, like the Mares’ Hurdle.
On the one hand Henderson could be giving the Champion Hurdle a shot in the arm by running the sport’s brightest star in the race year after year. Time will tell on that score, he really needs at least one serious rival to liven up the division if that’s to be the case.
Is the decision good for racing?
Because on the other hand we have the prospect of uncompetitive racing. Constitution Hill going off 1/10 for the Fighting Fifth, 1/8 for the Christmas Hurdle and 1/3 for the Champion. At a time when the sport is under pressure to provide competitive racing against a backdrop of small fields and domination by one or two select trainers, seeing jumps racing’s golden boy traipse around for effective walkovers are the last thing it needs.
Yet that is what we probably have in store. Even a bid for the Irish Champion Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival looks a pipedream, what with the International Hurdle moved to Cheltenham Trials Day at the end of January. “That gives us another race, potentially, before Cheltenham in March,” purrs Henderson.
The lack of depth in the two-mile hurdling division is not Henderson’s fault and it’s not Constitution Hill’s fault, but it’s reasonable for fans of racing to expect the best to be taking on the best. Unfortunately, Constitution Hill looks set to take on significantly inferior rivals, unless Willie Mullins has an ace up his sleeve.
“Never say never,” teases Henderson, once again, with a view to going chasing next season. After all, he will only be seven in March. But he’ll likely have two Champion Hurdle wins to his name by then, halfway to the record, and Henderson will be approaching the point of no return.
Indeed, the only way you can see Constitution Hill going chasing now is if he gets beaten over hurdles and soon. The odds will tell you that is highly unlikely.
With those odds in in mind, again, it’s no surprise that he’s staying hurdling. Henderson is maximising his chance of winning more races (doing his job). But for the racing fan in me it feels like his great potential might not be realised.
The truth is we may never find out how good this Constitution Hill actually is – and that’s a real shame, for all that it is no surprise.
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