'Bulked-up’ Constitution Hill set to start Cheltenham campaign at Newcastle
Superstar hurdler Constitution Hill is “sharper, keener” and ‘more like a racehorse”, according to trainer Nicky Henderson.
In an update that will not enthuse pretenders to the unbeaten gelding’s Unibet Champion Hurdle crown, Henderson said he was likely to start his stable star in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on December 2.
Undefeated in seven starts, Constitution Hill used the race to get last season’s campaign up and running, scoring by 12 lengths. He then won his next three, triumphing at Cheltenham by nine lengths.
At the end of the season, Henderson and owner Michael Buckley were entertaining thoughts of a switch toi fences and an eventual crack at the Cheltenham Gold Cup but the idea has now been parked.
Henderson, in a stable tour for Unibet, said: “It was a unanimous decision to stay over hurdles. The only point of going chasing was if you thought he could win a Gold Cup.
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“He would jump fences, there was not a worry about that, it was just whether he would stay the Gold Cup trip and I think we all agreed he wouldn’t. If you can go around breaking course records over two miles, you are unlikely to stay three miles and two furlongs.
“There’s no point going chasing over two miles. It wasn’t going to achieve anything, and you end up with the Arkle instead of the Unibet Champion Hurdle as your objective. There was nothing to be gained.”
He went on: “We are likely to see him kick off at Newcastle in the Fighting Fifth. He is just starting to wake up a little bit as we start to do some sharper work.
Shishkin: could tackle the Betfair Chase and King George VI Chase in the first half of the season (PA)“He has got bulkier. He is muscling up and you could see that coming out in his work as it builds up. He’s getting sharper, keener and looking more like a racehorse. He’s very laid back about the whole thing.”
The stable’s chief Gold Cup contender is Shishkin with the one-time 2m chaser committed to races over 3m this season. “Our only objective at the moment with Shishkin is the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day,” Henderson said. “That’ll tell us where to go after that.
“I would think the Betfair Chase is the most likely starting point. He wouldn’t be ready for the Charlie Hall, so I should think it will be Haydock.’ Jonhon will take the 2m route with the Shloer and Tingle Creek Chases possible early objectives, he said.
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