Constitution Hill pulls out of race meet as Nicky Henderson gives statement

Nicky Henderson confirmed the ‘very frustrating’ decision to pull Constitution Hill from this weekend’s action at Newbury.

The trainer was prompted to make the call having walked the course on Wednesday.

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Nicky Henderson explains Constitution Hill decision

“Having spoken with (Constitution Hill owner) Michael Buckley, we’ve taken the decision not to run Constitution Hill at Newbury on Saturday,” Henderson wrote on X.

“It’s very frustrating as we were keen to run, but after walking the course with George Hill this morning we felt the ground is just too quick for him – he’s a big heavy, horse and we couldn’t take the risk.

“He is in excellent form and we are desperately keen to run him before his summer break.”

Constitution Hill was due to run in the Grade 3 John Porter Stakes, where the winner would pocket a tidy £95,000.

The nine-year-old has made waves in flat racing since transitioning from hurdles.

How has Constitution Hill performed in flat racing?

Constitution Hill had already earned a serious pedigree as a top class hurdler having won the 2023 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Henderson’s prized horse quickly dispelled any notion his hurdles success wouldn’t translate to flat racing when he won on debut at Southwell in February.

Constitution Hill more than lived up to its billing as the favourite for the race as he beat market rival Square Necker by nine lengths to take home first place and £40,000 in prize money.

Speaking to ITV after the race, jockey Oisin Murphy, who rode Constitution Hill on his flat racing debut, acknowledged tougher tests awaited the nine-year-old in the discipline but felt bigger and better awaits.

“He felt like a machine at home,” Murphy said.

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“There wasn’t a lot of strength in depth in that race and if he continues on the flat, he’ll have tougher assignments. But the feel was the exact same today.

“For a big horse who’s been jumping, he has a lot of speed and is a joy to ride. It’s great he’s getting such a good reception.

“It’d have been easy to blast off in front, but I wanted to get in amongst them and give him an idea of what a flat race is like.”

Constitution Hill backed up his dominant debut with victory in his second race on the flat at Kempton in March.

However, with Henderson’s horse no longer competing at Newbury, racing fans will have to wait a little longer for Constitution Hill’s third bow on the flat racing circuit.