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Henderson said after the Aintree the horse was unbeaten if you take away the falls.. Now hes unbeaten if you take away the falls, take away running over in Ireland and take away a change of jockey.
Charles Darwin to conquer the World
One thing that was very pleasing to see today was State Man winning after his Cheltenham fall. I have long thought he has been underappreciated, and doubt that this will change, but he is a wonderful racehorse.
It’s a shame that his form had a wobble at the start of this season as it gives people another reason to knock him, but he is one of the best hurdlers we have seen this century.
And none of this is being said to knock
Constitution Hill, who I still think was the better of the two at his peak. The fact he was able to beat State Man so easily shows just how good he was.Tho it’s possible State man wasn’t in form that day, only 4l ahead of Zanihyr. State Man was great today, but nothing compares to Faugheen’s performance in that race in 2015
If you think the number of races Constitution Hill was running in was bad… Do you remember See You Then? I suspect Nicky’s running of The Hill was influenced by winning three Champion Hurdles with SYT without many other runs.
But the criticism about only one run before Cheltenham is overblown. He was due to run in the Fighting Fifth and then that race was postponed which meant it was closer to Kempton… Which would not have been so bad had it not been run on energy sapping heavy ground. So – it was thought – would not give him time to recover for the race on Boxing Day. Missed the Fighting Fifth. imo May also have been something to do with the horse’s action, long, fluent and daisy cutting. Rarely an action best seen on heavy going.
This season he was going to run at Newcastle but for working poorly beforehand.
This season he did run between Christmas and the middle of March, probably should have done so previous years. But it must also be remembered those two absolutely exceptional performances in the Supreme and Champion Hurdle came after 66 and 78 day breaks. So it’s possible (there’s some evidence for) Constitution Hill was best fairly fresh and therefore connections may not have wanted to run him often for that reason.
Value Is EverythingWhile I agree that CH was wrapped in cotton wool/campaigned poorly, the colic and lung infection was brutal.
Now that he’s been beaten and his invincible aura is shattered, I’m half expecting or hoping that next season, his regime will be set to default to get more runs in him. He’s the type of horse to bounce back.
befair,
Zanahiyr was no mug back then and was only 4L behind Honeysuckle in the previous years Champion Hurdle. He also went on to be only 3L behind CH at Aintree.
State Man faced Vauban 4 times that season and never beat him further than he did in the Champion Hurdle. I think he ran his race that day but Constitution Hill was just imperious.
I do think the cheekpieces improved State Man though and that this years Champion Hurdle was going to be his greatest ever performance.
“Tho it’s possible State man wasn’t in form that day, only 4l ahead of Zanihyr”.
Timeform agreed, at least in that – once beaten – State Man was not given a hard race, so when crossing the line he put up a performance rating 6 lbs below his very best. “Not unduly punished once beaten”. But the fact remains he was beaten prior to that and Constitution Hill’s sectionals were absolutely remarkable. On the clock putting in a brilliant sustained level of speed not seen before. ie Sectionals are taken from all runners in all races… And knowing what horses of each level are capable of when the pace has been at the same speed on the same going… Constitution Hill’s Champion Hurdle and Supreme sectionals were unheard of.
Value Is Everything“He’s the type of horse to bounce back.”
I am not so sure. He looks like a horse with issues now. Mental as well as physical.
If Henderson gets him back, it will be an even greater achievement than winning a second Champion Chase with Sprinter Sacre.
This was when they decided against the novice chasing campaign
And this was said four months prior to my above post
Given how quickly he stopped yesterday, it makes me wonder if he still has a breathing issue. He has gone from travelling well to beaten in the blink of an eye.
He was well backed before the race and still trading at odds on in running until just before the mistake at the second last obstacle.
As well as the praise rightly given to State Man, Paul Townend deserves a lot of credit as well for an uncomplicated, confident ride. He served it up to Constitution Hill from the outset, which was the right thing to do.
I don’t believe Constitution Hill fancied it from the start. Shied away from the tape and jumped the first like a puissance horse. Jerry Hannon noted in commentary he was big and brave at one hurdle – but that is not good hurdling. I think it was another early sign he was under pressure.
As for his connections, it is worth remembering that when Mr Buckley was talking the talk after the Supreme, he said he wanted to go to Punchestown. Not to run in the Grade 1 novice but to take on Honeysuckle in the open Grade 1.
And what happened. The horse was wrapped up in cotton wool and not seen until Newcastle in November (which was an afterthought because Henderson withdrew him from Ascot the week before because the ground was not tip top 100% perfect).
The way the horse has been campaigned does count against him in the greatness conversation. Why couldn’t he have run at the DRF, for example? State Man runs at Leopardstown at Christmas and then at the DRF. It has not stopped him winning the Champion Hurdle and it would have been two but for a fall.
It is disappointing because Constitution Hill really was a superstar after that Supreme win. But fragility and negative campaigning (perhaps the two are linked or the latter is partly the cause of the former) have conspired against him.
“So it’s possible (there’s some evidence for) Constitution Hill was best fairly fresh and therefore connections may not have wanted to run him often for that reason.”
If that is what his connections believe, why have they just run him 3 times in 53 days? The third run coming a month after a heavy fall.
“Why couldn’t he have run at the DRF, for example? State Man runs at Leopardstown at Christmas and then at the DRF. It has not stopped him winning the Champion Hurdle and it would have been two but for a fall.”
I don’t believe it is a problem for a good horse fancied for a Cheltenham race and trained in England to not travel to Ireland for the DRF. Irish trained horses run there as they are from Ireland and the Festival is in Ireland. How many does Dan Skelton send over? The New Lion ran in December and was put away until March and it did him no harm at all.
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