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The Official Constitution Hill Thread 2025/26

It bears repeating - because many in racing are so embedded in its bubble they just don't get it - but the damage to UK Jump racing's very future if this high-profile horse (who has fallen in three of his last four races, including this race last year) takes a fatal fall in the Champion Hurdle will be immense.

A horse, who owes connections nothing, sent to his death, despite multiple warning signs, in pursuit of yet more prize-money will be the verdict of the majority of the wider world - and I don't just mean the antis.

If the BHA was fit for purpose they'd intervene and say it's not happening as the risk of that PR catastrophe is too great.
 
Ian_Davies said:
It bears repeating - because many in racing are so embedded in its bubble they just don't get it - but the damage to UK Jump racing's very future if this high-profile horse (who has fallen in three of his last four races, including this race last year) takes a fatal fall in the Champion Hurdle will be immense.

A horse, who owes connections nothing, sent to his death, despite multiple warning signs, in pursuit of yet more prize-money will be the verdict of the majority of the wider world - and I don't just mean the antis.

If the BHA was fit for purpose they'd intervene and say it's not happening as the risk of that PR catastrophe is too great.
Click to expand...
That is a serious point.
It might be long odds against, but if it happened it would be the worst disaster ever to hit jumps racing.
If that's right, then it's not just a matter for connections.
It raises the question, at what level of risk does the precautionary principle kick in, in the interests of racing as a whole?
It may be a question that's never had to be asked before.
 
Generous1991 said:
That is a serious point.
It might be long odds against, but if it happened it would be the worst disaster ever to hit jumps racing.
If that's right, then it's not just a matter for connections.
It raises the question, at what level of risk does the precautionary principle kick in, in the interests of racing as a whole?
It may be a question that's never had to be asked before.
Click to expand...

I agree that it is a serious issue but I also think CH should continue to run in hurdles races.

There might be a very simple solution:

Don't televise or otherwise announce his next hurdles race.

Let him run without the media sideshow. If he falls again then it will be patently obvious that he is either too brave or too stupid for his own good and let him either retire or give him an appropriate Flat career.

He is so good over hurdles he would almost certainly be a 110+ Flat horse. Stick him in a couple of maidens, get him a mark in the mid-70s and start picking up valuable Saturday handicaps [at whichever trip he seems best at - there's £50-£100k hcaps every Saturday for ordinary horses].

Hendo has won the Ces a few times with two-mile hurdlers. Maybe being a hurdler his stride pattern will lend itself to the better staying handicaps but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he had the speed for 10-12f.
 
Ian_Davies said:
It bears repeating - because many in racing are so embedded in its bubble they just don't get it - but the damage to UK Jump racing's very future if this high-profile horse (who has fallen in three of his last four races, including this race last year) takes a fatal fall in the Champion Hurdle will be immense.

A horse, who owes connections nothing, sent to his death, despite multiple warning signs, in pursuit of yet more prize-money will be the verdict of the majority of the wider world - and I don't just mean the antis.

If the BHA was fit for purpose they'd intervene and say it's not happening as the risk of that PR catastrophe is too great.
Click to expand...
Agree with the sentiment, but surely it will set a very dangerous precedent if the BHA can say when a horse can and can't run?
How many midweek chasers/hurdlers have form figures of FFPFU or the likes and this would mean they would not be allowed to run.
IMHO Constitution Hill shouldnt run over hurdles again as it would be too big a risk if he falls again and lands the wrong way.
 
Such a shame, he’s the best I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t want to see him on the flat - it’d be like seeing Lionel Messi turning out for Goring&Streatley, interesting but wholly undignified.

He always flirted with danger and there was generally a “suck in the breath” type moment over the earlier brush hurdles. The new ones are less forgiving, but that doesn’t really explain why he just threw himself at it half way up the hurdle last time.

So far as the PR side of it is concerned. Yes, but the death of any horse held high in the public affection would cause a similar fuss.
 
notsodancingbrave said:
Agree with the sentiment, but surely it will set a very dangerous precedent if the BHA can say when a horse can and can't run?
How many midweek chasers/hurdlers have form figures of FFPFU or the likes and this would mean they would not be allowed to run.
IMHO Constitution Hill shouldnt run over hurdles again as it would be too big a risk if he falls again and lands the wrong way.
Click to expand...
I disagree about precedent as this would be a one-off in exceptional circumstances.

The traditional racing line - and you will hear it in coming weeks - is that it's the owner and trainer's decision and none of anyone else's business.

But Michael Buckley and Nicky Henderson aren't just risking their horse - they are risking U.K. Jump racing's entire image.

The horse probably won't fall and, even if it does, it probably won't be fatal.

But if the worst happens and the wrath of a nation descends on racing, people will belatedly wake up and say: "What the F were they doing running him? And what the F were the BHA doing allowing it?"

When you look at the downside, it's just too big a bet for racing to be making.

High profile horses have died before - but not many had fallen in three of their last four races.

It would be a terrible look.
 
“The new ones are less forgiving, but that doesn’t really explain why he just threw himself at it half way up the hurdle last time.“
BJ I wonder if he has a sight problem……….mind you how you check that in horse goodness knows 🙈
 
Who knows. My money would be on the new hurdles, but they got some in for him to school over. He appears to be ok at home, but at race pace and in the race hurly burly it’s a different question. I said he was done after last time and I’d have retired him then, albeit £signs must still flicker.

They must be pretty confident they’ve got him right, but if I was Nico (or whoever) I’d be upping my injury insurance.
 
Gullible said:
“The new ones are less forgiving, but that doesn’t really explain why he just threw himself at it half way up the hurdle last time.“
BJ I wonder if he has a sight problem……….mind you how you check that in horse goodness knows 🙈
Click to expand...
They have checked his sight extensively as that was my thought too but Hendo did state that they have.
 
Robicheaux said:
Fed up of hearing about it. Does anyone seriously think he'll turn up in March ?
Click to expand...
Sadly, I think there's a chance.

Never mind £881,823 in prize-money already accrued, there will be another quarter of a million up for grabs in March and, on top of that, among Jumps fans, the sport is built on great comebacks and, though a few sadly perish in pursuit of that, the game goes on.

But I really do think there's a wider picture this time, not least because of social media.

Despite three falls from his last four starts, no one would make the horse 1/3 to fall if he runs in March and the odds of a fatal fall would be longer still.

But the UK racing industry will be "betting the house" if they let it happen, because I know enough about how the modern media works to be sadly confident the very existence of UK Jumps racing would come under immense attack and none of the traditional racing defences would wash.

"The sport is all about horse-loving and welfare? Then how come a horse than had won almost 900 grand but had shown it can no longer jump safely with a 75% recent fall rate was risked in this? To try and win another 250 large - pure greed with no equine concern at all."

That'll be the reaction with plenty of mainstream non-racing journalists who will be all-too-ready to wield the knife.

"Jumps racing's blackest day" might be the Racing Post headline - the headlines in the national press will be a lot worse.
 
jinnyj said:
They have checked his sight extensively as that was my thought too but Hendo did state that they have.
Click to expand...
They can check for eye disease and cataracts but I don't know how they can get him to say which line of letters he can see clearly.

It's ridiculous to blame the new hurdles. He has always jumped low and got away with it. Schooling should fix that but he's now taking off at the wrong place which you'd incline to put down to the jockey. However, going back to the eyesight thing, can they measure depth and field of vision?
 
He seems to jump them fine when loose but he definitely gets it wrong with Nico on board. He jumped OKish in Ireland when James Bowen deputised albeit ballooning a few. And no doubt he's schooled and schooled over these sort of hurdles at home. I know they have brought Yogi Breisner in who is the jumping guru. There are jumping exercises and techniques that you can use but not sure what you do in this case. We had a pointer who used to walk through at least one fence on his way round. We took him schooling in an arena and used to place a pole a stride after the fence to get him to expect the unexpected. And it did work.

I have no idea how much they can check for these days. It's been a while since I had a horse's eyes checked.
 

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