Constitution Hill out of Champion Hurdle and ready for next chapter on the Flat

Constitution Hill will not run in the Champion Hurdle at next month’s Cheltenham festival after completing a key schooling session on Wednesday

Constitution Hill, the brilliant Champion Hurdle winner in 2023, has been ruled out of this year’s race on 10 March and any further races over jumps after a schooling session at Nicky Henderson’s yard on Wednesday, with the trainer saying in a statement that “it is not fair to ask him and Nico [de Boinville, his jockey] to do it again” following three falls in the nine-year-old’s last four races.

Confirmation that Constitution Hill will pursue new opportunities on the Flat follows his astonishing debut on the level at Southwell four days ago. While some jumps fans will regret the fact that one of the best hurdlers in racing history will not get a final chance to reclaim his former crown, others will feel relief that the risks attached to another fall have weighed heavier in the balance than the lure of a final run at the festival.

“Michael Buckley [Constitution Hill’s owner] and I have not surprisingly spent a lot of time soul searching and thinking over Constitution Hill’s future,” Henderson said in a statement on X on Wednesday afternoon, “and have sadly concluded that he will not be running in the Unibet Champion Hurdle the week after next.

“Last Friday night was for us all a magical occasion and we so appreciated his popularity and the love and admiration everybody showed to Conrad, as he is fondly called here. It was a terrific night for both him, us, and I believe British [racing] and we are very aware of the public perception and the possible consequences of running over hurdles and feel it is not fair to ask him and Nico to do it again.”

Henderson continued: “He showed on Friday night that he has another career in front of him that could possibly take us all to new playing fields. I would like to thank the thousands of Constitution Hill’s supporters and admirers that have shared their sentiments with us and advice on how we should proceed, and I would have to say the poll was as near 50/50 as you could get.

“This is a sad day for a lot of us, particularly the National Hunt fraternity that would have liked to have seen Constitution Hill try to regain his crown and sad for all here, especially Nico, who has spent so much time trying to iron out our jumping issues.

“However, he leaves the jumping world sound [and] happy and ready for the next chapter. It has been a staggering journey so far and Michael has had to endure some dark days but of course enjoyed the enormous highs and thrills of an extraordinary horse.”

Constitution Hill has been invited to parade at Cheltenham on Champion Hurdle day, one year from having set off as the odds-on favourite before the fall which marked the start of his jumping issues.

Henderson and Buckley, meanwhile, will now plan a schedule for their gelding which could take in major Flat racing festivals both in Britain and around the world.

Buckley suggested the Melbourne Cup in November – the “race that stops a nation” – as a potential target in the aftermath of Constitution Hill’s win at Southwell last week, although the nine-year-old would need to satisfy strict veterinary and qualifying requirements to line up at Flemington later this year.

The Ebor Handicap, at York in August – which is a “win-and-you’re-in” for the Melbourne Cup subject to veterinary checks, has also been suggested as a possible target, alongside the Irish St Leger in early September, which, unlike other major “Classic” events, is not restricted to three-year-olds.

With Constitution Hill now confirmed as an absentee, Dan Skelton’s The New Lion is the narrow favourite for the Champion Hurdle at 5-2. Brighterdaysahead, the Irish Champion Hurdle winner, is a 3-1 shot and Lossiemouth, the Mares’ Hurdle winner at the festival for the past two seasons, is 7-2.