In the International Hurdle, the top two-mile hurdler encountered minimal competition, as seen by his 1/12 starting price. As hasn’t always been the case with Constitution Hill’s fairly frail temperament not living up to his name, it was easy sailing for Nicky Henderson’s undefeated hero. However, Constitution Hill’s unexpected and welcome arrival on Trials Day added some stardust to proceedings, as racegoers eagerly anticipated seeing one of the sport’s most renowned players in “competitive” action. Henderson and his team have enjoyed a fairly clear run of late. Henderson declared before the race in the parade ring, “He’s coming out to play,” and Constitution Hill appropriately played with opponents who were rated 29lbs and more inferior.
Brentford He did have a lead for the first portion of the race thanks to Hope, but Nico de Boinville had had enough and pulled Constitution Hill ahead of him as the back straight approached five out. He never seemed to get out of first gear, and the field did catch up a bit as it got closer to the finish line, when Constitution Hill made an unexpected mistake that had some spectators gasp. “My heart was in my mouth,” De Boinville remarked. “He did something in the middle, but he found a leg, and that was okay. He was just doing it so easy, and he was either going to fiddle away or on a long one. He isn’t even capable of blowing a candle out here, he’s hardly blowing.
“It’s fantastic to have him back at Cheltenham as well, it’s great that everyone has come to see him. Delighted with him, just angry at myself really.”
