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Constitution Hill will take his next step towards horse racing immortality when he lines up for the defense of his Champion Hurdle crown at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The unbeaten seven-year-old has had an interrupted season to date, but there is nothing to suggest a major cause for concern ahead of the Festival’s opening-day highlight.
A scintillating winner of the Champion Hurdle in 2023, Nicky Henderson’s horse is likely to face limited opposition and a small field again when he bids for a third Festival win in a row.
State Man: The Only Realistic Rival
The Cheltenham 2024 odds have Constitution Hill as a -1400 shot, which is a shorter price than when he beat State Man 12 months ago. State Man remains Constitution Hill’s only serious rival in the race and is priced at +250, with most of the Cheltenham betting tips on the race likely to revolve around whether Willie Mullins’ horse can turn the tables.
Based on events before and after last year’s Champion Hurdle meeting between the two horses, there is nothing to seriously indicate that State Man has a realistic chance of toppling Constitution Hill.
If you don’t know who this horse is, you need to 💥
CONSTITUTION HILL is racing’s new superhero 🦸♂️ pic.twitter.com/cpY3dShITv
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 14, 2023
In his eight winning starts to date, Constitution Hill has shown himself to be versatile tactically, in terms of whether he must make his own running or sit in behind the leader. There are no concerns about his jumping, and he also seems to handle any ground.
The only minor worry would be that he has run just once this season when running out a facile winner of the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton. His intended reappearance before that at Newcastle fell victim to the weather, while he missed Cheltenham Trials Day at the end of January due to an unsatisfactory scope.
Given there is a two-month gap between the scope being reported and the Champion Hurdle, there is ample time for Constitution Hill to fully recover and be ready for what will surely be his next step towards becoming the first horse to win the Champion Hurdle four times.
Plan to Go Chasing Ditched
After connections shelved the idea of going chasing, winning as many Champion Hurdles as possible must be the ultimate goal for the horse. Five horses have previously won the race three times, with Constitution Hill’s trainer Henderson achieving that feat in successive years from 1985 to 1987 with See You Then.
The horse would be nine by the time of a fourth consecutive win in the Champion Hurdle and while few horses win the race at that age, Constitution Hill’s current lack of battle scars should see him have little difficulty in still being good enough in another two years’ time. He first has to win successive renewals, a feat most recently achieved by Honeysuckle.
Just how good Constitution Hill is, or could still become, is a little bit of a conundrum, especially given he has never been truly challenged and there has been a paucity of high-class opposition.
But given State Man has won eight Grade One races either side of his defeat by Constitution Hill, it is fair to say he is a once-in-a-generation hurdler and by the time he is retired, he could set a benchmark that is never beaten.
