Constitution Hill gets his eyes tested at ‘equine Specsavers’ after big race blunders
The formerly unbeaten Champion Hurdle winner has undergone a full MOT after a season in which he fell at both the Cheltenham and Grand National Festivals
Constitution Hill has visited the equine equivalent of Specsavers to get his eyes tested in the wake of a campaign characterised by blundering jumping. Until last season the eight-year-old was one of the superstars of jumping who went undefeated in ten starts under rules.
But in January errors began to slip into his performances with the first alarm sounded when he clattered the last flight when coasting to victory in his Cheltenham Festival warm-up in the International Hurdle. Nevertheless his air of invincibility was still intact when he lined up as the 1-2 favourite for the Champion Hurdle only for his race to be over early when he fell with four hurdles still to jump.
Hopes were high he could bounce back at Aintree and though he travelled like a winner, he again came down at the second last.
He suffered another defeat when fifth of seven in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle from which he came away with grazes and was sore.
As the core jumps season approaches Constitution Hill is well off the pace in the ante-post betting and is a 12-1 chance in a list headed by the Dan Skelton trained The New Lion.
Yet his trainer struck an optimistic tone when giving an update on the eight-year-old.
"We’ve tested everything," he told the Racing Post. "We knew it was important to see everyone he needed to see. We found out there was the equivalent of an equine Specsavers, so we’ve had his eyes tested.
"We’ve taken him to bits and we found very little. We did a bone scan from head to foot, and remarkably, nothing was found at all, which is surprising on an eight-year-old, but even more so after two falls like he’s had.
"He’s moving beautifully and his lungs are good, which sometimes we had to be careful with, but he’s in excellent shape and we’re pleased with where he is."
The trainer said Constitution Hill’s tribulations last term appeared as if “the world came to an end” and described his Champion Hurdle exit as “heartbreaking”.
He went on: "To go and do it again at Aintree makes you wonder, and you can’t just write it off as a coincidence. He’s doing something he shouldn’t be doing because he’s technically the best jumper over a hurdle in the world. He’s a typical hurdler – slick, accurate and fast – but he’s doing something stupid and nobody can explain why.”
Henderson said Constitution Hill’s early season campaign would take in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle and Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day.