The renowned ratings experts at Timeform believe the former superstar is now unlikely to reach the heights he once promised to achieve
Constitution Hill has been marked down as a ‘poor jumper’ in a damning verdict after his latest fall. The winner of the 2023 Champion Hurdle seemed destined for greatness and he lined up at the Cheltenham Festival in March undefeated in ten starts under rules.
However the 1-2 favourite crashed out early when he fell with four hurdles still to jump. Hopes were high he could bounce back at Aintree and though he travelled like a winner, he again came down at the second last. And he suffered yet another defeat when fifth of seven in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle from which he came away with grazes and was sore.
After a thorough MOT over the summer, trainer Nicky Henderson was confident he had Constitution Hill back at the top of his game for his return to action in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Saturday.
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Yet the same fate befell Constitution Hill when he came down at the second hurdle in a dramatic running of a race won by Golden Ace after second favourite The New Lion was another casualty.
Ratings experts Timeform have now provided their own assessment, suggesting Constitution Hill has ‘ingrained issues’ likely to prevent him reaching the level of the legendary Night Nurse, Comedy of Errors and Sea Pigeon.
Phil Turner said: “Nicky Henderson’s stable star is one of only a handful of two-mile hurdlers over the past 45 years to have achieved a comparable Timeform rating to that illustrious 1975 trio, his peak figure of 177 putting him 2 lb ahead of Sea Pigeon’s best figure and 1 lb below Comedy of Errors.
“To many observers, it seemed inevitable a few years ago that Constitution Hill would even surpass Night Nurse’s record Timeform rating of 182 at some stage, but his stuttering career since then means that is most unlikely to happen now.
“Top hurdlers have little margin for error due to their rapid jumping technique so it’s inevitable some will fall from time to time – Night Nurse, for example, is widely regarded as one of the most fluent jumpers of all time, yet even he suffered a terrible fall in the 1977 Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, one which ended the career of his regular jockey Paddy Broderick.
“Sea Pigeon, like Constitution Hill, also hit the floor three times during his jumping career, but those falls were sporadic and not of huge concern. By contrast, mistakes crept into Istabraq’s repertoire late in his career, two last-flight falls from his final five starts possibly a reflection that his powers were on the wane.
“Three falls in four starts hints at even more ingrained issues for Constitution Hill, particularly as two of them have come before the race had begun in earnest.
“As a result, we have little choice but to attach the symbol “x” (which denotes a poor jumper) to Constitution Hill’s Timeform rating for now – a decision which would have been inconceivable this time last year.”
