Fighting Fifth reaction: Constitution Hill hits the heights again

Impaire Et Passe tackles open company for the first time in the Grade 1 Hatton's Grace Hurdle. The Ballymore winner has been kept over flights as connection spy a potential shot at Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle at next year's Cheltenham Festival, although this looks a tricky assignment on seasonal reappearance. A year on from inflicting…

It's that moment we've all been waiting for - Constitution Hill is back on the track this weekend! After the prospect of a chasing campaign was shelved by connections, the Champion Hurdle hero begins the long road back to the Cheltenham Festival by kicking off his season with a defence of his Fighting Fifth Hurdle crown. Constitution Hill routed…

State Man is set to meet just three rivals at Punchestown in defence of his Morgiana Hurdle crown on Saturday. It looks like a penalty kick for Willie Mullins' star hurdler after bagging four Grade 1s in open company last season, with his only defeat coming at the hooves of Constitution Hill at the Cheltenham Festival. Stablemate Echoes In…

Those who had the good fortune to be among the tens of thousands of spectators who attended the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in early March were in for a memorable evening. Constitution Hill, while dominating the prestigious race, subsequently cemented his position as one of the most remarkable jump horses in history. Conquering the…

If you were among the fortunate thousands who witnessed the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival earlier in March, you were treated to a truly memorable experience. Even from the comfort of your own home, you had the opportunity to witness Constitution Hill solidify his status as one of the most exceptional jump horses in history. Living up…

Constitution Hill, the best hurdler of recent decades, will stick to the smaller obstacles "for the foreseeable future" and swerve an ambitious attempt to become only the second horse to win both the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup, Nicky Henderson, the gelding's trainer, said on Tuesday. The news ends many months of speculation that…

By Andrew Asquith, Monday 08 May 2023 Posted in: Cheltenham Festival Tips Andrew Asquith takes a long-range look at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival and picks out some horses to keep an eye on. Constitution Hill was the star of the 2022/23 National Hunt season, notching four Grade 1 wins and there is a strong argument you can make for him being the…

White silks, black cap, not a lot to look at physically; the deceptively deadly Constitution Hill is the ultimate wolf in sheep's clothing - his true nature only really revealed by his actions on a racecourse. GOAT has a much better ring to it, of course - though nobody dare suggest he can scale anything quite like the dizzy heights of Arkle, say.

Timeform's race report described the result of Saturday's Grand National as "quite possibly the strongest-looking National form ever". A big statement perhaps, but the placed horses certainly provide plenty of substance to the form, with a pair of Grade One winners, Vanillier (remains on 153+) and Gaillard du Mesnil (remains on 157), finishing…

Tony McFadden provides the Timeform ratings reaction to the hurdle races run at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival. Seven went to post in the Unibet Champion Hurdle last week - the smallest field since 1974 - but the race revolved around one horse: Constitution Hill (remains rated 177p). Constitution Hill established himself as the highest-rated novice…

Dan Sheridan/INPHOConstitution Hill is one of the most exciting racehorses in training. # DONN MCCLEAN 5 Cheltenham favourites - rock solid or vulnerable? There's just seven days to go before the Cheltenham roar goes up. JUST A WEEK to go now. Seven days before the Cheltenham roar goes up and they get under way in the curtain-raiser, the Supreme…

Although many National Hunt racing fans have been looking forward to the Cheltenham Festival since the beginning of the new year - there have been plenty of quality meetings that have taken place in January and February that are worth dissecting. Once such meet which has proven crucial in the wider context of this jumps racing season is the Dublin…

Nicky Henderson talked through plans for his Cheltenham team on Monday morning. Here are Adam Houghton's key takeaways. Henderson taking nothing for granted with Constitution Hill Unbeaten in five starts under Rules, by a cumulative margin of 77 lengths, Constitution Hill was never more impressive than when winning the Sky Bet Supreme Novices'…

The Boyne Hurdle (14:40) at Navan on Sunday is available as a free Race Pass, which means logged-in customers can view all our premium comments and ratings. Navan's Boyne Hurdle (14:40) over 2m5f features some Cheltenham Festival entries among the nine runners bidding to join some famous names who have won this in the past including Limestone Lad,…

If there were still any lingering doubts surrounding who would win the clash of the titans between Honeysuckle and Constitution Hill in next year's Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, they're arguably no more - as the former put in another admirable performance to win his seasonal reappearance at Newcastle in freakish fashion. Heavily…

No horse in training has a higher Timeform rating than Shishkin, who earned a figure of 181 for his stirring success over Energumene in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot in January. That performance in a race for the ages took Shishkin's record over fences to seven from seven and, for some context on what he achieved on the form book, it earned him…

Constitution Hill's stunning win in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle had many calling him the best-ever two-mile hurdler and propelled him into the ranks of the greatest based on Racing Post Ratings, which started in 1988. Here is the kind of company he's keeping now 1. Istabraq (RPR: 181) Career best: Punchestown Champion Hurdle…

Constitution Hill had looked something special on his first couple of starts over hurdles at Sandown, winning a novice by 14 lengths and then the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle by 12 lengths, and he went into the Supreme Novices' Hurdle with the'large P' still attached to his rating to denote he was capable of much better form. Few could have predicted…

By Andrew Asquith, Tuesday 22 March 2022 Posted in: Cheltenham Festival Tips Andrew Asquith takes a long-range look at the 2023 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and provides his best bet. The Champion Hurdle at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival was won by the brilliant Honeysuckle for the second year running but, in truth, it was only an…

No horse going into the 2023 Cheltenham Festival carries the level of expectation that Constitution Hill does in the Champion Hurdle. There is an overwhelming confidence with that he will not only win, but he'll win by clear daylight and that's because many believe this horse is potentially the best any of us have ever seen. Understandably,…