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I’m in Buckinghamshire today and it’s been raining on and off all morning and just had a very heavy shower. Has Newbury had rain today? Wouldn’t that be ironic if it’s on the softer side of good on Saturday
Honestly just retire the horse. Let him enjoy his life.
This pantomime has clearly not been thought through and appears to be a vanity project for NH and MB. It’s all very tiresome and I get fed up of seeing and hearing Nicky these days“Wouldn’t that be ironic if it’s on the softer side of good on Saturday”.
It would sum up Henderson.
It is just as well he had the two winners at Cheltenham, otherwise I think people would be asking about his future. And even then, the form of the Supreme took a hit at Aintree when Sober Glory was well beaten (to be fair, it might have been a race too far for him).
Look at the Trainers Championship. Skelton is on £4.7 million, while Henderson is on £2.2 million. Even allowing for Skelton having a lot more runners, that is a comprehensive drubbing.
Looking back through this thread, I think Yeats may be right when he says Ryan Moore didn’t rate Constitution Hill. I know Moore keeps his cards close to his chest most of the time but you can tell when he really likes a horse (Auguste Rodin, City Of Troy etc). His reaction after riding Constitution Hill at Kempton wasn’t exactly bubbling with enthusiasm, even by his standards.
It has to be borne in mind that Moore wasn’t riding for the Coolmore hype machine that day and didn’t have to sell Constitution Hill as a potential stallion.
I also thought Murphy gave CH a better ride as Moore nearly had him trapped at one point. I don’t follow AW so I have no idea how many times Moore rides on the AW and at Kempton’s?
C Hill needs Goldilocks ground, not to hot, not too cold, just exactly right; absurd that when he was at his best he only turned up ~4 times each season. And this was 2-mile hurdling, not 3-mile chasing.
Its easy to spot ryan over selling a horse. He slighty screws up his face. He knew how good city of troy was after his first run. The win in the juddmonte in hindsight shows him to be out of the top drawer. Ryan rode some peaches on auguste rodin,none more so than the bredders cup. Not sure he loved the horse mind you as he was a moody bugger.
Re Auguste Rodin, it was after he won as a two year old at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend. Moore couldn’t keep the smile off his face. I backed him for the Derby as soon as the interview was over. As I said at the time, not after timing!
Geeez talking about the John Porter and its Constitution Hill chat on ITV racing
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Is Constitution Hill really enjoying his racing or not? I can’t imagine a horse that has missed more engagements than him. His new career can’t take place from April to August as it isn’t soft enough. Then during the winter months there aren’t many suitable races for him. Well, what does his racing window look like anyway? Are Conditions’ races in France or Group Races in Germany not an alternative nowadays, if you were already thinking Melbourne Cup?
Henderson had to have his arm twisted right behind his back just to take him to Ireland. Is he really going to take him to France or Germany? As for Australia…
If Buckley is serious about Constitution Hill having a Flat career, shouldn’t he move him to a proper Flat trainer? Not someone who dabbles with it, as Henderson does.
Gaelic Warrior runs on anything,
travels abroad, not sacred of hurdles or fencesCon Hill one trick pony, overrated, he came, he peaked, he’s gone
He won’t win a group 3 on the flat unless its against below average opposition
He’s a circus show now to put bums on seats, Henderson should take him on tour around the tracks like what Frankie done.Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
“Con Hill one trick pony, overrated, he came, he peaked, he’s gone”.
I wouldn’t say he was overrated. At his peak he was very good indeed and has one of the highest Timeform ratings of any hurdler. However, that period lasted for a little over a year and he lacked the longevity of some of the other greats.
Since then he has declined. His career (such as it is now) is descending into little more than a circus act. It is sad to see.
Yes, he was sublime for a year.
Over talked about and overrated now though but I guess people flock to see him so at least the candy floss sells will be upGaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
He was a blazing shooting star over hurdles in that his Supreme year and Champion Hurdle year were the brightest of bright spots but that brightness has steadily waned as his fragility (both the horse and the trainers cotton wool approach) rose more to the surface post his Champion Hurdle year.
I am still of the opinon that Hendo has talked himself into believing that he can’t race on quicker ground even though there is absolutely no evidence to support that train of thought. The ground at Newbury will be quicker than anything he has raced on for sure but it will also have been heavily watered (at least up until they confirmed he wasn’t running) so I have no doubt it would have been perfectly safe jar free ground regardless of what Hendo thinks.
If this is the standard they are setting for ground conditions that they are prepared to race on then forget about a Melbourne Cup and potentially he could end up missing most of the English flat season (unless the weather intervenes). They might have to look elsewhere around Europe (France and Germany tend to have softer ground and some of the German G1 can be low on quality but then Hendo has never been know for his travelling horses so Buckley might have to insist).
I was hopeful that the switch to the flat could have led to a very good twilight to his career with plenty of viable races in the 12-16F range that he could be aimed at but his trainer seems hell bent on getting in his way of proving what a worthwhile exercise this switch could have been.
I think the original plan was not to run him at all. Otherwise they could have declared him for the race and waited with a possible withdrawal after walking the course on Saturday.
His options have been already diminished by both Oisin and Ryan when both recommended 12f as the ideal trip. Which still leaves them with plenty of European options.“Is Constitution Hill really enjoying his racing or not? I can’t imagine a horse that has missed more engagements than him. His new career can’t take place from April to August as it isn’t soft enough.”
He has no idea of the racing calendar or what month of the year it is. As far as he is concerned, he has his routine and very occasionally goes out on a day trip.
Going back over hurdles is not an option and he still has ability, so why not look at a flat career.
At present we have no idea just how good he is and it would be interesting to find out.
He looked something worth pursuing with first time out, but not racing against a challenging field.
Although it wouldn’t happen, I agree with CAS that the horse would benefit moving to a dedicated flat trainer. I know the media put extra focus on the horse, but unfortunately it’s all too much of a circus with Henderson.
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