The Constitution Hill flat journey has hit its first bump in the road as the ground at Newbury was deemed unsuitable for the son of Blue Bresil. Despite a current stick reading off 4.7 and risks of showers, Nicky Henderson has decided not to take his chance.
After walking the track, Henderson told the Racing Post: “We’re not going to run him. I just can’t do it. There’s no point in waiting any longer because the rain is not going to come in before Saturday. I walked the track with George this morning. He
said it’s only going to get quicker than slower by Saturday afternoon, so there’s no point declaring him.
“We wanted to let everyone know because there’s obviously a lot of interest. Which is lovely and we do appreciate that, but it wasn’t a close call. Which helps us in a way, and it means I’m not having sleepless nights about it.”
Seven horses were declared in his absence, including the Dante and Great Voltigeur winner Pride Of Arras. French Group Two winner Convergent was declared, as was Group Two Jockey Stakes winner Bellum Justum. Newbury regular Al Aasy will feature in what promises to be a fascinating renewal despite the absence of Constitution Hill.
Where next for Constitution Hill?
With Newbury out of the window, Henderson has spoke of the dry weather proving an issue for his next step. He told the Press Association, via At The Races: “I’m not saying he needs soft ground, but he’d need a lot of rain to run this weekend and it’s not forthcoming so there’s no point in waiting, it’s fairer to let everybody know.
“I’m having a look for a race, there’s a couple of handicaps he can run in. They are 0-100 so he’ll be 1lb over so he can run in them. But he’d be the first to get balloted out.
“There’s one next week (at Ripon), the ground is already good. But I’m assuming that’s the same as Newbury’s good which isn’t good enough. There’s not much rain around.”
The dilemma for Henderson is that he wants to run him, but acknowledges he’s also in need of a break. Most flat horses, particularly toward the higher end of the thoroughbred spectrum, will’ve been out in the field all winter. Constitution Hill has been on the go in training since the late Autumn, and a break is required in order to wind him back up for his Autumnal targets.
Henderson continued: “It’s sad, we’re desperate to go and I appreciate people want to see him. We want to run him just as much, but we can’t take any chances. If we can’t have a run now I think it’s better to get out and come back in the autumn. He’s been on the go since September/October.
If the ground at Ripon is too quick, then connections may have to travel to Longchamp in search of softening conditions.