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If there was an issue with the hurdles then you would expect to see more than just CH falling constantly – given its the same mistake he continues to make (stepping on the hurdle halfway up it) he would have still hit the deck each and every time even if he had been facing the old style hurdles.
The horse now seems to have some sort of mental block in his head over jumping and I don’t think it is fixable as you would be stupid to replicate race conditions at home on the gallops and I certainly don’t see why you would want to risk sending him over fences at his age – if they are adament in continuing to race him then the safest (relatively speaking) option would be to explore the flat……although personally I think they should retire him.
The New Lion certainly shouldn’t be judged and written off on this run, the trip wasn’t the issue for me as his fall was simply that while one hoof cleared the top of the hurdle the other one didn’t and that hoof ended up stepping on the hurdle but as Ruby pointed out there were a couple of occasions in his Festival win where his fronts hooves barely were high enough to clearly the top bar of the hurdle…..it was just unfortunate that it happened this time.
If they aren’t going to go to Kempton (I am sure that JP could rustle up a horse of his to ensure a strong gallop for him there and Skelton did say at Newbury that he doesn’t think the trip is a problem), then I do wonder what other 2m option they have short of going over to Ireland at Christmas (and I can’t see that happening) other than waiting for the International at the end of January and that would likely mean his last run before the Festival, which to me isn’t an ideal preparation for a horse in his first season out of novice company.
Unless they do employ a pacemaker for him going forward then with his hold up run style he is also somewhat going to be held hostage to fortune to a slowly run tactical race, which a lot of the top 2m hurdle races end up being without a confirmed front runner.
Whilst today’s race did seem to definitively answer a question over CH, it unfortunately raised more questions over the other two horses, so it is almost a case of one step forward and two steps back.
Apart from poor CH that’s kind of good though. If TNL or Anzadam had put in a monster performance leaving every else toiling then it would have been, oh well that’s that. Lossie at home for Christmas and if things continued in that vein then one monster plus Lossie and nothing else in March, or just one monster and Lossie scuttling back to the mares . Dull.
Reading all your comments above all I can say to Nicky Henderson is please please retire Constitution Hill. He definitely has issues, maybe he has problems with his eyes and doesn’t seem to be able to judge where to take off to jump his hurdles.
He looked fantastic in the parade ring today and I’m sure a lot of people turned out at Newbury today just because he was there and went home disappointed.
So far he’s been very lucky with his falls and there have been one or two horrible looking ones that he’s had a lucky escape from so why not walk away now and be proud of what he has achieved.
Time for Constitution Hill to run free and enjoy a happy retirement.
JacGolden Ace was brilliant today and well done to all who backed her.
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...LD73 2 runs out of novice company and winning at Cheltenham has been done before the last twice by British trained winners of the Champion Hurdle. Constitution Hill himself and Epatante before that. Whether The New Lion needs an additional one now is up to the trainer, they were definitely going to miss Kempton start of the season which was telling me it was going to be 2.
Understandably the posts about CH and TNL dominate this thread, but pre and post race. How about a bit of praise for the winner? Jumped quickly and smoothly, finished strongly. It seems she’s damned because she’s NOT CH or other well fancied hurdlers. Ok, I’m biased, I backed her in the Champion and this, but she’s been consistently vilified since her win in the Mares Novices Hurdle which to my eye she won on merit. And yes, I’m on her for next March too at tasty odds. Not looking to kick off a storm here, just saying how about giving her some credit.
Well said, johnzero. Stories like hers are what first got me into NH racing, They’ll be the ones I miss most when the sport shuts its doors. There’s a fine piece on Jeremy Scott in the Post – free to read at the time of writing.. https://www.racingpost.com/news/features/the-big-read/it-was-the-lowest-ive-ever-been-struggling-to-see-the-light-and-within-a-few-months-weve-won-the-champion-hurdle-amLrM9d9Sdth/
This Constitution Hill story’s getting like a crime mystery. If he hates jumping those hurdles, why continue doing so while loose – flying them too?
Horses are famously senstive to the emotions of those close to them and it would be impossible for Nico, or any other jock, to approach a hurdle on the horse with a mind totally free of anxiety.
Quite right johnzero and Steeplechasing, Golden Ace deserves the praise and credit for winning these Grade 1s, and her achievements seem to get lost in the boring, bleating on and on about other underperforming over-hyped horses! Great placing by her connections too, her lucky owner also has French Ship who won nicely again yesterday and hopefully has a bright future.
He schools them at home, right? Does he fall at home
Could be the occasion, crowd getting to his headGaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Thanks for that Joe, it’s a nicely written article and they sound like a lovely family, more power to them.
She’s still a bigger price than CH for the champion hurdle
She’s three times the price of TNL. Would he definitely have beaten her yesterday? Doubtful.Yes, green. I wasn’t impressed with The New Lion anyway. I wonder if he has the speed for 2 miles.
The question is how TNL responds to pressure when he doesn’t have just Nemean Lion on his heels, but a rather fully fit Lossiemouth and an even fitter Golden Ace. Let’s not forget Jeremy Scott was over 200 days without a winner and this one lost a match at Wetherby over four weeks ago when running very poorly. Expect more to come from her as well.
The circumstances of the two most important races she has won dictate that she won’t fully get the recognition for winning them – she wouldn’t have won the Champion Hurdle had State Man not fallen at the last and it is at least open to doubt whether she would have outstayed The New Lion had he not fallen 2 out.
Until she proves she can beat these opponents without them falling (I don’t think she can personally) then sadly there will always be a caveat on those two wins when they are discussed – as admirably tough (considering she scoped dirty just 28 days ago) and consistent as she is, I think we all know that extreme good fortune has shined on her twice and it will be required for a third time for her to double up come March.
If I were The New Lion’s connections I would seriously consider getting a pacemaker to ensure that his races are at least run at a sensible gallop and not a silly buggers tactical 4F burn up, which will not suit him – he looked rather lost when left in front yesterday and almost tried running out at one hurdle and that is something you simply can’t afford to be doing in a Champion Hurdle. A return to hold up tactics they have always used up until yesterday is a must.
CH schooling on his own at home at probably less than half speed bares no resembalance to race conditions when the heat of competition is on and his blood is up – horses are also herd animals so seeing him ambling around loose jumping other hurdles for fun following the others is not in anyway unusual for a horse to do, it is rather instinctual for them to try and stay with the herd if they can.
I don’t think anyone has said he hates hurdling it is just that he doesn’t seem to be as decisive as he once was when being asked off a long stride and that is where every one of this falls has happened – whether that is due to an undiscovered physical thing or (more likely) a mental thing only the horse could really tell us……..and sadly he can’t.
But what we do know for sure now is that when he is on a long stride at a hurdle, he is now much more likely to hit the deck then sail over it as he did countless times in his pomp. That really should be the last time he is ever asked to jump hurdles again as I truly fear that if they perservere with him with this then his (relatively speaking) luck is going to run out at some point.
His owner Michael Buckley sadly is well versed in lows of losing his horses on course like The Proclamation and Mutare which in large part resulted in him hoping his luck would change by changing his colours from the black and white quarters and checked cap to the White/Black Cap we see his horses carry today.
LD73.
Was thinking the same regards The New Lion. McManus has plenty of horses so should use one of them as a pacemaker for him.
I think he’s going to run a huge race in March.
Seems Gerraghty is of the similar opinion given his comments in the RP:
“He was taking a chance earlier in his career but, as soon as he got the fall, I think that has created indecision in his own mind. He didn’t pick up desperately long at that hurdle, but halfway through he thought, ‘oh, I’m not sure about this’, and he tried to drop a leg on the hurdle. It’s that indecision, and it’s very hard to take that away.
“You can school at home, jump perfectly in a relaxed environment, but you go to the racecourse and have that energy, that tension, and boom, he takes a chance. It’s a really difficult thing to un-train out of a horse, if you like.”
“It’s going to be really difficult to get that back, to get into his head and get him to believe and relax.”
Jac
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