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I don’t think jumping those fences would’ve done the horse any harm. If he gives the hurdles slightly more air, whilst still getting away from them quickly enough, then its job done, he won’t fall and will probably win.
He has an Ascot Gold Cup entry now
Have to say I would be concerned about him staying 2m 4f on the flat especially if they go an end to end gallop (obviously with no hurdles to slow the race down to get a breather in) it becomes a much stiffer test of stamina.
Also unless we get a wet summer that ground will be proper fast flat ground (most likely with the word firm in the description) and we all know Hendo considers running on NH good ground as an issue. i would have thought that the Long Distance Cup run on Champions Day where the ground would be more akin to NH ground would be a better option (it is also roughly around a month before the Fighting Fifth so a good prep fitness wise for that).
Not a chance would he get the Ascot Gold Cups 2m4f.
2m would be his absolute max trip on the flat imo and I think even that would stretch him.
I think 2 or 3 years ago, he’d have been brilliant over 1m4f but at 8yo , the ship has sailed. They should just stick to NH racing now.
Faugheen or Annie Powere would have been better suited to a tilt at the Ascot Gold cup; equally commanding Champion Hurdlers to C Hill, but much stronger stayers. There must be some reason Mullins never considered it, as much lesser hurdlers like Wicklow Brave and Simenon were v competitive in top long distance flat races
I’d be interested to see Constitution Hill given a spin on the Flat. I don’t think his being 8 years old is that offputting – it wasn’t an issue for Al Aasy in the Gordon Richards recently.
If they were serious, then why haven’t they entered him for the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot today, instead of Punchestown?
I said after he won the Champion that they should have tried him then on the Flat, and see where they stand. Does he have the raw ability to handle the much faster pace of Flat racing, with no obstacles to overcome?
I remember back in 1990, they gave Morley Street a prep run on the Flat at Goodwood in prep for the Breeders Cup Chase – he took on and beat Michelozzo, the previous year’s St Leger winner….
From memory, a lot of 2m hurdlers don’t stay the 2m4f Gold Cup trip, and those that do, are usually too slow; same with staying hurdlers having a crack; outpaced from a long way….
Royal Gait was an ‘outlier’; a stayer with speed at the end of races.
Is anyone concerned about James Bowen riding CH? I’m not saying he isn’t or wont be good enough but it is a big test for him. He’s never ridden the horse before in a race, has he the necessary experience, especially of riding in Ireland on a horse that has fell in his last 2 races.
He does appear to have a better record riding over fences than hurdles but hopefully everything will go well for him.He wouldn’t be allowed to run in the Ascot Gold Cup without a preliminary race on the flat. These are the race conditions:
Horses will only be eligible to run in this race provided
that they have a current BHA Handicap Rating of 80 or
higher at midday of the confirmation stage.
Horses which do not qualify for a rating may also be eligible
providing the BHA Handicapper is satisfied that the horse’s
racecourse performances up to and including the day before
confirmation merit a provisional assessment of 80 or higher.
Horses which have not run will not be eligible.In order to have that race and convince the handicapper, I reckon he’d have to run in the 2M Henry II Stakes at Sandown on May 29th.
Cunningly, the second acceptance date (pay another £3,250) is May 27th!
I’m glad I’m not Jame’s mum. Worried enough for him now as it is. Also a shame that he’ll miss the stag do that he organised, although, if he wins on the horse I’m sure it will add to the celebration. I hope I’m right in my gut feeling that it’s the new style hurdles that have been the problem with him.
Worryingly, Henderson’s overall form with his horses is pretty dire, 4 from 27 and 14 days since his last winner.
His Punchestown runners in particular make for grim reading as they have been beaten 18L (10th of 25), 27L (16th of 25), 45L (17th of 17), 11½L (5th of 18), 60L (8th of 9) and PU.
Good news is that the first actually favourite of the whole Punchestown meeting has just won…..and it only took until the 11th race.
7 from his last 50 dating back to April 4th winning at tracks like Ffos Las, Hereford, Plumpton, Chepstow, Stratford and Cheltenham. 6 of them over hurdles, but that’s where CH runs too.
Its been a terrible season really for Henderson and his horses have been in and out all season. His supporters (and i’m one) will point to some big race successes, and he’s entitled to them as he still has some very good horses, but on the whole, its been poor.
very unlucky with Sir Gino, but his Kempton win hasn’t amounted to much anyway.
Jonbon the real saving grace, but the wheels have fell off ever so slightly.
No good novice hurdlers.
Go back to his stable tour at the beginning of the season and the amount of Novice Chasers he was going to have, and then see what actually transpired. Hardly any have jumped a fence and of the ones that did most have reverted back to Hurdles. Loads of horses rarely even seen (willmount?). I fully expect Lulamba and CH to get beat this week, hope not but he just seems luckless and/or in decline. And its still frustrating how often his horses actually run.
I wish him all the best for tomorrow, but did he real float over those baby fences with no one around him and over a distance even shorter than four furlongs? Was that the real crucial schooling session he was talking about?
“No good novice hurdlers.”
This year or last year.
“Go back to his stable tour at the beginning of the season and the amount of Novice Chasers he was going to have,”
Yeah that was a bit weird. It was all, oh I have so many there aren’t enough races for them to start in (er just put em in the same races) and so half of them have to stay over hurdles cos they can’t start over fences cos no races.
Yeas he constantly bemoaned the lack of Novice Chases. He looked to have a bunch of decent hurdlers all ready to go chasing but couldn’t find the ‘right’ races for them. The word he was looking for was ‘easy’ races! There is a novice chase on just about every card up and down the country daily. In general he has not had a great time with chasers for sometime.
He can’t find races, despite the fact there are plenty of them which other trainers manage to find. He knows how to arrange a racecourse gallop, though.
It is one of the reasons why so many people find Henderson so tiresome and a partial explanation for why he has been left toiling in Mullins’s wake.
That won’t alter even if Constitution Hill wins today.
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