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They won’t be throwing him out there unprepared. No harm in schooling him over fences and seeing how he takes it, it’ll keep things interesting for him if nothing else.
Henderson : We need some one to school a new novice chaser this morning, are you OK for that Nico?
Nico : Which horse are we talking about?
Henderson : Well it’s one you know really well and I’m sure he’ll be OK over the fences.
Nico : Just a minute, are you asking me to school Constitution Hill over fences?
Henderson : Err, yes I am. I’ll put a special bit on to help you control him.
Nico : Is that the Racing Post news desk, this is Nico De Boinville and I want to announce my retirement.
Ghost nowt against Thistlecrack but we’re comparing Buckfast to Champagne here ….
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Its one of those if you go chasing and he does win a Gold Cup then you are the greatest things since sliced bread but if it all goes pear shaped and then you go back hurdling and that goes south you are called the greatest idiot in the sport by trying to fix something that isn’t broke.
I think they look at his laid back nature and the fact that to date everything seems to come so easy to him as a reason why going the Gold Cup route is a very tempting option…of course what happens on Friday may have a bearing on their decision too.
There are many high class hurdlers who have gone on to be very good chasers without hitting quite the same heights as they did over hurdles.
The attributes required to make an exceptional hurdler will be slightly different to those needed to make an exceptional chaser, and the chance of both combining within the same horse must be remarkably slim.
However, Constitution Hill is in the right hands if he is to embark on a chasing career, especially over shorter distances. I can see why connections are tempted.
Great photo of a great horse, Nathan – hope you’ve had a wonderful day.
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Willie reckons he may have the one to beat him in Impaire Et Passe.
Please keep both him and Facile Vega over hurdles next season Willie. I look forward to the 10 & 20 length beatings the Hill will dish out.
You’ll never have one to beat him.Tbh, I just wanted to see him go on to confirm what I predicted in the very first post of this thread.
And he has.
I’ve never been one for wanting to see horses pushed and pushed.
With some it seems to me they’re never happy until they see a great horse beaten.
In fact some of the media, when a great horse comes along, are like a spoilt child with a new toy which they want to abuse until they break it – the call for ever more extreme tests never ends: run him over further and further, or shorter and shorter, in other countries, conceding ever more weight, until the great horse is finally beaten.
Why?
To what end?
He could easily win the next two Champion Hurdles and I’d have no objection to that.
He hasn’t won far enough this week to be given record ratings but, such is the ease of his victory, I have no doubt he has the edge on ability on even the great Night Nurse, even though he hasn’t won as many races yet.
If he ran on the Flat, I’d speculate he could reach an OR of 120+ in staying races which is Trueshan or even better territory.
And if he ran over fences, where higher ORs seem to get given to the best than over hurdles, I could see him running to 190+ which is Sprinter Sacre (at 2m) or Kauto Star (3m plus) territory.
But I’d be equally happy to see him farm the Champion Hurdle his entire career.
What will be will be.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"“The call for ever more extreme tests never ends: run him over further and further, or shorter and shorter.”
I wonder if Henderson may keep Altior in mind. He decided (or perhaps was persuaded) to step him up in distance when he was undefeated over 2 miles. He was beaten and was never the same thereafter.
“But I’d be equally happy to see him farm the Champion Hurdle his entire career.”
So would I – and I suspect Henderson would be as well. Providing the horse stays sound, it is difficult to see anything getting near him over hurdles, including yesterday’s Ballymore winner.
If they decide to go chasing, knowing Henderson’s cautious approach it will mean an entire season in novice company. What a waste that would be. And everyone would know whatever won the Champion Hurdle would only have won it because the real champion had not turned up, possibly having run an hour earlier in the Arkle.
Ultimately, he isn’t Henderson’s horse. Michael Buckley obviously has a long-standing friendship with Nicky, but the owner should be the one who makes the decisions.
The operative word is “should,” Gladders.
Owner/trainer relationship dynamics vary.
Didn’t the owner want to go to Punchestown last April to take on Honeysuckle?
I suspect Henderson gets his way more often than not.
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