Constitution Hill has been withdrawn from the Champion Hurdle and will start the “next chapter” of his career.
Trainer Nicky Henderson announced the end of the racing star’s jumps career today (25 February), with his future runs expected to be on the Flat.
Although the horse will not be racing at next month’s Cheltenham Festival (10 to 13 March), he will make an appearance “to give all his National Hunt supporters the chance to say goodbye”.
Constitution Hill, owned by Michael Buckey, won his first 10 starts under Rules including the 2023 Champion Hurdle. But three falls from four starts over hurdles prompted a change of tactics.
The nine-year-old headed to Southwell on Friday (20 February), where he made a scintillating Flat debut on the all-weather with Oisin Murphy in the saddle. The big question since has been whether connections would target a reclamation of the Unibet Champion Hurdle at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, or if Constitution Hill would switch codes.
Mr Henderson said today that he and Mr Buckley have “spent a lot of time soul-searching and thinking” about the horse’s future, and have concluded that “he will not be running in the Unibet Champion Hurdle”.
“Last Friday night was for us all a magical occasion and we so appreciated his popularity and the love and admiration everybody showed to Conrad, as he is fondly called here. It was a terrific night for him, us, and I believe British horse racing.”
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Mr Henderson added that he and Mr Buckley did not feel it would be fair to ask the horse and his regular jockey Nico de Boinville to race again over hurdles.
“He showed on Friday night that he has another career in front of him that could possibly take us all to new playing fields.
“I would like to thank the thousands of Constitution Hill’s supporters and admirers that have shared their sentiments with us and advice on how we should proceed, and I would have to say the poll was as near 50/50 as you could get.”
He added: “This is a sad day for a lot of us, particularly the National Hunt fraternity that would have liked to have seen Constitution Hill try to regain his crown and sad for all here especially Nico, who has spent so much time trying to iron out our jumping issues.
“However he leaves the jumping world sound and happy and ready for the next chapter. It has been a staggering journey so far and Michael has had to endure some dark days but of course enjoyed the enormous highs and thrills of an extraordinary horse.”
Constitution Hill will parade at Cheltenham racecourse on Champion Hurdle day (Tuesday, 10 March).
2PD5HYC Constitution Hill ridden by jockey Nico de Boinville clear a fence on their way to winning the Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy on day one of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Picture date: Tuesday March 14, 2023.
Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
