Equinties - Aintree day 2

Gm Equinauts

Whether you were with or against CONSTITUTION HILL yesterday, no one wants to see a Champion fall.

Another muted heat which had offered such promise pre-race. Heart breaking.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

BIG HILL TO CLIMB

Two falls in succession have us, including Nicky Henderson, all asking the same question - what to do with CONSTITUTION HILL now?

We’ll review Aintree in full next week, like we do for every big meeting, but talking about the 2023 Champion Hurdle winner is worth our time now.

Ruby Walsh’s analysis on ITV is pretty spot on time and time again, and his summation of the situation was that Nico asked and CONSTITUTION HILL didn’t give the correct answer. We’ve seen him do this before, notably in the Unibet Hurdle when he got away with it. Remember what the line was from connections after that near escape? They suggested he was half asleep and he’ll learn to sharpen up. He hasn’t.

He’s fallen in a Champion Hurdle, when he wasn’t under much pressure, and just as Nico was starting to get to work on him yesterday, he went down again.

It’s so sad to see.

Fall aside, it was set to be an interesting race, and there’s no chance you could say CONSTITUTION HILL was a certainty from where he was. He got in a bad spot and was caught a little flat footed when they eventually managed to find a gap, but he was still chasing down LOSSIEMOUTH who had a beautiful route through. This statement should be remembered for the next time CONNY HILL lines up.

His jumping quirk is infuriating. In the early parts of his career, he was flying from a different postcode and had the power to soar over that. He didn’t run and jump round, he simply flew around the track. Nico was happy to let him do that then but after the recent mishaps there seems to be a big communication breakdown between horse and rider. CONSTITUTION HILL isn’t listening to Nico and it all ends in tears.

He may line up again this season, and that could be at Punchestown where he could take on BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD again but at this point we’re not worried about the opposition, we just want a clear round.

It’s bold. The conditions of the race will probably suit better, but he’s had two falls now and one was pretty hard. Nicky Henderson presented the case that the Irish hurdles could suit him better as they are brush, and he did his Supreme/Champion Hurdle winning over the same type of hurdles and not these padded ones. It’s an interesting theory. He might even open up at odds against and drift further if he goes to Ireland.
He’s eight going nine next year. If he doesn’t jump fences like a grand piano at home, why not try him over them? The dream of winning three, four, or even five Champion Hurdles is gone - why not allow him to respect his fences in an Arkle or even Champion Chase division next year?

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