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“I am not suggesting any of those horses do not deserve their ratings but very few people go starry eyed about them.
It is frustrating because I think this horse could have been the best – but his issues and the way he was campaigned scuppered it”.
You’ve just answered your own point there CAS.
Unlike the vast majority of those rated above or equal to Constitution Hill, his rating was achieved for the first time as a novice. On only his third racecourse start. So of course it is frustrating for everyone he did not improve that rating – as most racehorses do in their second and third seasons. Frustrating too because everything about the horse as a novice suggested he was capable of better. The “p” remained on that rating for a long time, because it seemed probable (better than a 50% chance of happening) he would show better form if allowed to / with something able to challenge him. Unfortunately after colic and wind problems that was not going to happen. Indeed, Henderson did well to get him well enough for the Christmas Hurdle.However, his two truly amazing performances in the Supreme and Champion Hurdle did come after fairly long breaks. 66 and 78 days. This year – after so much criticism – CH did run at the end of January… Falls at both Cheltenham and Aintree and his bad run yesterday all came with shorter gaps between races. Horses are different. Horses like Galopin Des have shown their best in the heart of a busy season. So connections of GDC would be risking not running to his best if going to Cheltenham “fresh”. Although there are other reasons why The Hill has not shown his best, it is very possible he was / is at his very best fairly fresh. So how did the way was campaigned “scupper” things? How exactly are you saying the horse should have been campaigned?
Value Is Everything”Kauto Star stayed at home in Feb, Denman stayed at home in Feb, Buveur Dair stayed at home in Feb, Best Mate stayed at home in Feb, the list goes on and on.”
What is your point exactly here Mike.
Kauto won the Down Royal Champion Chase twice
Denman won the Savills at Leopardstown
Best Mate won the Savills at Leopardstown
Buveur D’Air won the Punchestown Champion HurdleGinger, you’ve touched on something I was thinking about last night.
I think the only chance we’ll see the horse back to anywhere near his best will be when fresh.
If I owned him. It’d be a 3 race campaign next season and screw the critics.
Kempton, Champion Hurdle, Punchestown.
He’ll never be as good as he was a few years back no matter how he’s campaigned though.
I doubt they’ll go back to Punchestown after yesterday’s debacle. Whatever bottle Hendo and Buckley had will have gone after that performance.
It will probably be Fighting Fifth, Christmas Hurdle, Champion Hurdle next year.
I’d say that’s most likely Glad but if by some miracle, they get him back in top shape. I think they really need to be avenging that beatdown yesterday. It was an embarrassment.
Don’t forget Sprinter Sacre was never the same horse after going to Ireland for the Festival. His second Champion Chase victory nowhere near the form of his first. So with what happened to The Hill yesterday I doubt any Henderson hotpot will ever run at Punchestown again.
Value Is EverythingIf he’s to win another Champion Hurdle I agree it’ll be from a light campaign.
Might be Newcastle, but I’d be seriously thinking about just two runs; Kempton and Cheltenham.Value Is EverythingI’m gonna get inspiration from the old warrior Sea Pigeon who won back-to-back Champion Hurdles at the ages of 10 and 11. There’s still hope for Constitution Hill…
“I doubt any Henderson hotpot will ever run at Punchestown again.”
Lulamba runs there in a couple of hours Ginge…
Charles Darwin to conquer the World
Ghost – Sea Pigeon would regularly go from running on the flat and then head into a jumping campaign for multiple years, his 1980 win followed on from winning the Ebor the previous August under 10st and he won the Vaux Breweries Gold Tankard (for a 3rd time) and the Doonside Cup en route to his 1981 Champion win………that kind of prep would give Hendo heart failure!!!
CH will likely spend the whole summer in a field doing less than sod all in the hope that he can put this season behind him – no doubt we will get the usual will he won’t he talk in the run up to Newcastle and probably Kempton too and depending on if he makes it to Newcastle realistically, I can only see him running again at Kempton before then going straight to Cheltenham and then if he has recovered anything like his previous form repeating the same programme the season after.
Great post LD73. Never knew that Sea Pigeon had such a strong preparation. You’re right … Hendo would probably end up having defibrillation 😂
I think something else will happen: Hendo and Buckley will seek advice from some jumping gurus like Yogi Breisner (though he left Newmarket in 2021) or maybe someone like Henrietta. The horse was having any fun yesterday and I think NH should be having that while competing in a race.
It could be a summer holiday, but he’ll be quite active on the jumping front. He ran with zero confidence yesterday.“Hotpot” not as in a short priced horse, but an established absolutely top quality racehorse like Sacre, The Hill, Altior, etc. Lulamba would need to improve a stone and a half to be a Henderson hotpot, Nathan. Lulamba went into today’s race not even the best juvenile… He is now.
Value Is EverythingObviously Lulamba and Sir Gino are the future Henderson hotpots
Use a bit of foresight Ginge.Charles Darwin to conquer the World
“How exactly are you saying the horse should have been campaigned?”
There is no reason why he couldn’t have run at Aintree or Punchestown after the Supreme. There is no good reason why he could not have run in Ireland during his prime.
I don’t accept the idea he needed a bit of time between races to show his best form. He beat Epatante on 26th November 2022 by 12 lengths. One month later he beat her by 17 lengths. The short turnaround didn’t seem to adversely affect his performance then.
Unfortunately Cheltenham has now become the be all and end all. The National Hunt season before Cheltenham is nowhere near as good as it once was because the top horses do not appear often enough. Even as recently as 2006/07, Kauto Star ran 5 times before the Gold Cup.
I simply don’t get why geldings with no financial worth after racing are wrapped up in cotton wool. Some of them run less often than 3yo colts. OK, the likes of Coolmore and Godolphin want to maximise stud values but it ought to be a source of embarrassment to National Hunt trainers that immature Flat horses are having more races than geldings.
“Don’t forget Sprinter Sacre was never the same horse after going to Ireland for the Festival.”
Didn’t he go into atrial fibrillation at Kempton the following season? Nothing to do with Punchestown.
Although I see from earlier in the thread you reckon it’s what’s in the trainer’s mind-
“What I was really meaning is that since Sprinter’ Henderson’s in form, winning, top of the tops don’t run in Ireland. Whereas those who’ve had a set back or two, or who’ve run out of alternatives do often run in Ireland.
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If CH got beat in the CH then I can see there’d be more reason in NH’s mind to run him in the Punchestown CH.”I agree with you there. His tarnished heroes run here, when they’re knocking on in years.
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