There were no dramas with Constitution Hill at Newbury's gallops morning as he pleased trainer Nicky Henderson ahead of the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Saturday November 29.
The eight-year-old is being prepared for the Grade 1 at Newcastle on the back of a tumultuous season in the last campaign, where he fell twice in the Champion Hurdle and at Aintree before he ran a shocker at Punchestown on his final start, beaten 27 lengths into fifth.
Last season had started well, with victories in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton and the Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham on Trials Day.
On Tuesday morning he worked under Nico de Boinville, with Therapist under Rob Hornby and Act Of Innocence under James Bowen, sitting at the back for much of the exercise before drawing alongside Therapist with Act Of Innocence in tow. He pleasingly then pulled away inside last furlong.
It was a marked difference 12 months on from being put in the shade by stablemate Sir Gino at the same gallops morning, where he was bidding to prove himself following wind surgery and time off the track.
“That was Sir Gino he galloped with last year don’t forget," Henderson said. "You could see what Sir Gino was capable of doing, but that was the past.
“He has been in good form all the way through. It is nice to be able to get out there. I know I’ve been saying for the last two months, but it is nice to be able to come and show him to the world.
“If that was a race I would be as about as confident as you could be as a horse because I really was pretty certain it would go to plan, and you could be as everything has been straightforward to be fair.
“I think he has lengthened a bit. He has got slinkier. I always thought he was bit of a block, and a square horse. He was very square and very solid, but he looks as if he has just stretched out a bit and I don’t know why.
“It occurred to me a month or so back looking at him in the box and I was thinking you are a good looking boy and I had never really looked at him that way.
“He was always a nice horse, but he was not a particularly pretty one. He looks as if he has a bit more quality about him.
“This is what something like this is about (restoring his confidence). That was a brutal day at Punchestown. To be fair the whole thing was just a chapter of disaster and he should never have gone there.
“It was over when the tapes went up when he turned and faced the other way. It was as if he was turning to the stands looking at me saying ‘Dad, I can’t do this again’. He has never turned his head at anything as he wouldn’t know how to, yet that day that is what he said."
This isn't the first away day for Constitution Hill, Henderson revealing he went to Worcester in disguise only recently.
He went on: “He did go to Worcester as well. I’ve no idea what he was going around with as it was one of their schooling mornings, although he didn’t jump.
“Half-an-hour earlier The New Lion was going round and it was lucky they didn’t get drawn in the same heat, but we wouldn’t have even known. They wouldn’t have known it was us as he went to Worcester called Harry that day. He has always lived under the name of Harry as when he went to the vets a couple of times I really didn’t want the world to know that he was in the vets so to stop the interns or the nurses saying Constitution Hill has been in the vets he was just Harry. Even now the vets bills come through with Harry on!
“It sure is a (different dimension), but you can’t treat it any differently. He is going to be no fitter or more forward or backward than he was two years ago when he won then.
“I accept it is going to be very interesting, but everyone said that about Lossiemouth in the Christmas Hurdle and I would say we are well up to where we were then, and we might be a bit better.
“This will have brought him on. He has got to have a school and then another bit on Sunday or Monday or something like that."
Henderson has had to pick high-profile horses up from the canvas before, most notably the great Sprinter Sacre.
“They (him and Sprinter) were completely different issues," Henderson said. "His jumping has got to be polished off in the next week or two. I’ve got some hurdles now so I’m going to put them up this afternoon. I was going to take him to Kempton Park, but Barney (Clifford, clerk of the course) has brought his hurdles to the horse rather than me taking the horse to the hurdles.
“Worcester was terrific. He was cantering around the back and then Nico let him go and he passed ten horses in ten horses in ten strides and then galloped off.
“I’ve got other things that would keep me awake before he would because unless anything goes wrong, or we have any little hiccups from now and then, which can easily happen you like to think we are going to get there.
“The re-modelling of the whole thing started straight after Punchestown when we realised we had to do something. We have done a lot of things and we literally did take him to pieces, literally every nut and every bolt and put the whole thing back together again with loads of peoples advice, and more.
“I’ve always stayed here to be fair (to watch the race) so I will stay here, but Michael will go up there. It is a shame as I’ve never been to Newcastle as we have won it a lot of times.
“It will be tough. You do know that Dan’s horse is a very good horse and we know they are very fit horses. It will definitely test him in every single way, and there will be improvement, which hopefully will get him into Christmas.
“It would not be disappointing if he did finish second to The New Lion.”
Henderson also watched over Hyland who is bidding for glory in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury on the same afternoon Constitution Hill goes to Newcastle.
He said: “I thought that was great and he finished that really well. He would want it to try out. The whole point there was that I worked them that way around as if Constitution Hill’s gallop went according to plan in which case Nico would go to Newcastle, in which case James (Bowen) you better get on Hyland. You would have to be pleased with how Hyland galloped there as that is not his ground. He needed it still, but that will put him right I hope.
“He was in three and four runner novices chases on good, fast ground whereas the other day he had to run the other day giving tons of weight to some good horses in soft ground.”
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