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The Official Constitution Hill Thread 2025/26

edgt said:
It may be the paintwork or perchance was there any shadow at the take off side given The New Lion had a similar fall/dive.
Always watch a horse's ears to check their focus on a jump; if pricked they are focusing , if lying back they are not.
Similarly if they dislike the going their ears will tell the tale.
I remember watching a horse at Cork races one day with connections; there was a stretch of heavy going at the second last fence and at the opposite fence on the far side and the horse hit those fences on each circuit which cost him the race; his ears told the tale each time and the horse was genuine as day.
No doubt the ophthalmoscope will be dusted off and batteries replaced in Seven Barrows though I fear Nicky's eyes more than the horse's.
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On disliking the going, would you say their ears would be pinned back if disliking the going or would they flick forward and back intermittently during race on going they dislike?
 
edgt said:
It may be the paintwork or perchance was there any shadow at the take off side given The New Lion had a similar fall/dive.
Always watch a horse's ears to check their focus on a jump; if pricked they are focusing , if lying back they are not.
Similarly if they dislike the going their ears will tell the tale.
I remember watching a horse at Cork races one day with connections; there was a stretch of heavy going at the second last fence and at the opposite fence on the far side and the horse hit those fences on each circuit which cost him the race; his ears told the tale each time and the horse was genuine as day.
No doubt the ophthalmoscope will be dusted off and batteries replaced in Seven Barrows though I fear Nicky's eyes more than the horse's.
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Whilst I'd also be interested in the answer to Treffs question I'll float another one out there for the proper horsey folk around us. I've just got around to watching the Hattons grace and noticed the extremely low head carriage of Ballyburn when under restraint whilst I have seen horses do it before I've never understood why. Obviously Ballyburn run well so it's not really a negative thing but it's just strange to see a horse nearly nibbling the turf through the first half of the contest. Just wondered if there was any particular reason for it or if it's just one of those things.
 
Danny said:
Whilst I'd also be interested in the answer to Treffs question I'll float another one out there for the proper horsey folk around us. I've just got around to watching the Hattons grace and noticed the extremely low head carriage of Ballyburn when under restraint whilst I have seen horses do it before I've never understood why. Obviously Ballyburn run well so it's not really a negative thing but it's just strange to see a horse nearly nibbling the turf through the first half of the contest. Just wondered if there was any particular reason for it or if it's just one of those things.
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I wondered that as well.
 
Danny said:
Whilst I'd also be interested in the answer to Treffs question I'll float another one out there for the proper horsey folk around us. I've just got around to watching the Hattons grace and noticed the extremely low head carriage of Ballyburn when under restraint whilst I have seen horses do it before I've never understood why. Obviously Ballyburn run well so it's not really a negative thing but it's just strange to see a horse nearly nibbling the turf through the first half of the contest. Just wondered if there was any particular reason for it or if it's just one of those things.
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That's just how Ballyburn carries himself. He ran some race, he's very interesting going forward.
 
maureen said:
Seven Towers is the main one that springs to mind.
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I was sure there was a chaser trained by Mary Reveley who did this. It wasn't Cab On Target when I checked one of his races on YouTube around an hour ago. There's footage also of Seven Towers in the 1997 Midlands Grand National, and he's not carrying his head particularly low in this race.
 
Golden Cygnet was another that carried his head so low his knees used contact his teeth , causing him to bleed.
Edward O'Grady got special boots made for him but he learned from hurting himself .
Check out his Festival win to see a real racehorse in action all you young folk out there.
To answer Treff's question they can flick their ears with displeasure or when idling perhaps but must prick their ears to focus their vision .
Horse riders on here will tell you to watch their ears at all times when on board.
 
Interesting - Paddy Brennan seemed to be struggling to say something similar without upsetting Nico on Unbridled.

Constitution Hill always zipped over the hurdles with a high risk technique and heart stopping moments were not infrequent. What’s been different since he started falling are the hurdles which don’t let him get away with such moments as more forgiving twigs did. Not that it would have made much difference this time, he just lunged at it and wouldn’t have cleared it at half the height. His lack of confidence or Nico’s that made him back off? Maybe a bit of both.
 
Lots of critics of Nico De Boinville out there, some of who call themselves professional punters.

I never simply swim with the tide and I don't ever automatically agree with the racing social media's self-appointed "cognoscenti."

I think the criticism of so-called "stone hands" is overplayed and his mounts consequently sometimes start bigger than they should.

I used to think the same about Hayley Turner - she wasn't great, but she was nowhere near as bad as the market seemed to think she was.

I had various decent-priced winners out of her too - some lousy losing rides too, for sure, but the odds of the winners more than compensated.
 
The horse should be retired, why are we even debating this? That poor horse owes US nothing, but we are still here debating his next race and his next jockey.

How many more times can that great horse fall at a hurdle, without fatally injuring himself? I know I will be devastated if that happens.

Come on, we’re better than this.
 

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