Nicky Henderson delivers ‘sad’ announcement on Constitution Hill Cheltenham Festival decision

The question on where and when Constitution Hill will race next looks to have been answered by trainer Nicky Henderson.

The Seven Barrows yard announced on X that “he leaves the jumping world sound & happy and ready for the next chapter” and will ultimately miss the Unibet Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival 2026.

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Public opinion, from not only those working in horse racing as trainers, jockeys and so on but also from fans has been largely divided on where Constitution Hill should go next.

Many believed he would be a great shot at the Champion Hurdle to bounce back after a stunning performance on his first flat run, winning at Southwell last week.

Owner Michael Buckley also echoed that sentiment, as he explained to Nick Luck on Sunday.

Buckley wants to aim him at the Melbourne Cup which would entail a couple of races on the flat in Britain in August.

With opinions split, others wanted Constitution Hill to continue on the flat to see where he could take his career, while many also called for the superstar to just be retired.

End of an era in ‘sad day’ for racing

Henderson explained in his statement: “Michael Buckley and I have not surprisingly spent a lot of time soul searching and thinking over Constitution Hill’s future and have sadly concluded that he will not be running in the Unibet Champion Hurdle the week after next.”

“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 both him, us, and I believe British Horse Racing and we are very aware of the public perception and the possible consequences of running over hurdles and feel it is not fair to ask him and Nico to do it again.

“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 Hills 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.

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“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 & 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.

Final farewell to National Hunt

“Cheltenham have kindly invited Constitution Hill to parade on Champion Hurdle day to give all his National Hunt supporters the opportunity to say goodbye.”

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