Betting Suspended On Next Month’s Unibet Champion Hurdle Due To Constitution Hill Concerns
The participation of overwhelming favourite, Constitution Hill has been thrown into doubt following a poor workout at Kempton Park
Betting has been suspended on next month’s Unibet Champion Hurdle as the participation of overwhelming favourite, Constitution Hill has been thrown into doubt following a poor workout at Kempton Park. Trainer, Nicky Henderson took many of his Cheltenham Festival hopefuls to Kempton on Tuesday but swiftly sent stable star, Constitution Hill for medical checks after a sub-par performance at the Sunbury course.
Nicky Henderson explained, “Unfortunately, in a routine gallop this morning, Constitution Hill was very disappointing and it transpires, after the vet has scoped him, that there is evidence of mucus.
"We're taking a sample of it to a laboratory to analyse it, which will tell us about the significance of it and we should know more after that.
"Last week, he worked brilliantly and he was scoped 10 days ago, but these things happen, just like it did with him earlier in the year.
"Horses are like humans, look how many people had the awful cough around Christmas that took ages to get rid of. If it is just mucus, you can clear it up with antibiotics.”
Henderson added, “The vets still think it could clear up in a week and all his serious work has been done already, whether he makes it [to the Cheltenham Festival] will depend on the severity of it.
"He was disappointing this morning working with Sir Gino [Triumph Hurdle favourite], who he has worked with in the past. He would normally go easily with him, but this morning he couldn't, so Nico realised all was not well and wasn't hard on him.
"Obviously, the mucus was affecting him. He's not coughing, he's just got a dirty picture, as we say. I'm not saying definitely either way [about Cheltenham] and I'll keep hoping. As you can imagine, it has come as a bit of a shock."
Constitution Hill has long been the overlwelming antepost favourite for this year's Champion Hurdle has already won seven Grade 1 races and is rated as one of the best hurdlers of all time. The Nicky Henderson-trained seven-year-old has two previous Cheltenham Festival wins under his belt having won the 2022 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle as well as last year’s Champion Hurdle.
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