WandererSkyLight
Amateur Rider
(Yes Ian, I put 2026 in the title for you)
So today is the day, where the legendary Jump horse Constitution Hill headlines his flat racing debut at Southwell Racecourse, most of this forum knows his form and history, but for anyone new and doesn't know who this horse is:
Constitution Hill (9 Years Old): Unibet Hurdle Winner in 2023, The Hurdle Triple Crown winner, the three time Christmas Hurdle Winner. He is a once in a generation Jump phenom, but in 2025/26, it has been his worst section of his career, falling 3 out of 4 of his races (His other race at Punchestown he was beaten hard), on races he has won brilliantly, so his trainer, Nicky Henderson, decided to change direction a bit, and put him on a flat course to hopefully regain some of Constitution Hill's bearing for the upcoming Unibet Hurdle in March.
The race itself is over 1 mile and 4 Furloughs (2400m) so stamina is nowhere even close of an issue, Constitution Hill runs typically 2 miles+, but the obvious difference is that he has never been in a gate before the recent training, so the starts will be a point of interest for him, the draw has allocated him Gate 12 which is not great of a gate but hopefully he should not be startled by position.
Also this tidbit on At The Races outlines this interesting position of this race: "You'd have wanted long odds about the 7.30 at Southwell on a Friday night becoming one of the most talked about and eagerly anticipated races of the season"
Whether you think its a farce or not, this race has gotten major publicity unlike anything we have seen before, especially on the All Weather scene, arguably the biggest All Weather Race this century. Southwell is being talked about as if its Cheltenham, Ascot, Aintree etc. Thats why it's an intriguing race today because of its circumstances. Its on a Friday Night, All Weather track, a very small capacity racecourse. This is the equivalent, to use football, of Marine vs Tottenham (If Covid hadn't happened). You cannot deny, that despite Constitution Hill's bad runs this year, he can single handily provide the draw of the crowd.
If you want my opinion: Nicky has done this to prove that you can convert a Jump Horse into a flat horse easily, after Ethical Diamond won the Breeder's Cup Turf back in October (Who will be racing in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March), this is a response, a proving ground.
So today is the day, where the legendary Jump horse Constitution Hill headlines his flat racing debut at Southwell Racecourse, most of this forum knows his form and history, but for anyone new and doesn't know who this horse is:
Constitution Hill (9 Years Old): Unibet Hurdle Winner in 2023, The Hurdle Triple Crown winner, the three time Christmas Hurdle Winner. He is a once in a generation Jump phenom, but in 2025/26, it has been his worst section of his career, falling 3 out of 4 of his races (His other race at Punchestown he was beaten hard), on races he has won brilliantly, so his trainer, Nicky Henderson, decided to change direction a bit, and put him on a flat course to hopefully regain some of Constitution Hill's bearing for the upcoming Unibet Hurdle in March.
The race itself is over 1 mile and 4 Furloughs (2400m) so stamina is nowhere even close of an issue, Constitution Hill runs typically 2 miles+, but the obvious difference is that he has never been in a gate before the recent training, so the starts will be a point of interest for him, the draw has allocated him Gate 12 which is not great of a gate but hopefully he should not be startled by position.
Also this tidbit on At The Races outlines this interesting position of this race: "You'd have wanted long odds about the 7.30 at Southwell on a Friday night becoming one of the most talked about and eagerly anticipated races of the season"
Whether you think its a farce or not, this race has gotten major publicity unlike anything we have seen before, especially on the All Weather scene, arguably the biggest All Weather Race this century. Southwell is being talked about as if its Cheltenham, Ascot, Aintree etc. Thats why it's an intriguing race today because of its circumstances. Its on a Friday Night, All Weather track, a very small capacity racecourse. This is the equivalent, to use football, of Marine vs Tottenham (If Covid hadn't happened). You cannot deny, that despite Constitution Hill's bad runs this year, he can single handily provide the draw of the crowd.
If you want my opinion: Nicky has done this to prove that you can convert a Jump Horse into a flat horse easily, after Ethical Diamond won the Breeder's Cup Turf back in October (Who will be racing in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March), this is a response, a proving ground.
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