Cheltenham bombshell as Nicky’s star flops

CONSTITUTION HILL, the biggest star in National Hunt racing, is a huge doubt for the Cheltenham Festival after a routine gallop ended in drama. The reigning Champion Hurdler, who boasts a perfect record after eight starts, was taken to Kempton by trainer Nicky Henderson yesterday to gallop with two stablemates, including JCB Triumph Hurdle hope Sir Gino. Constitution Hill, usually such a powerful mover, was expected to breeze through the exercise but he was scratchy on the first circuit and floundered on the second, finishing 20 lengths behind. Nico De Boinville dismounted Constitution Hill after the finishing line and the horse was led back to the stables, where he was scoped (a camera inserted through the horse’s nostril) by racecourse vet Jamie Knapp. The results showed a significant amount of mucus. ‘Nico just said he couldn’t keep tabs on them. They are good horses he worked with but that is not right at all,’ said Henderson. ‘You can’t rule him out (of Cheltenham) but if it’s not clean in a week’s time he ain’t gonna get there in another week.’ This is not the first time Constitution Hill has scoped badly this winter — it happened in January and ruled him out of the International Hurdle at Cheltenham. His campaign has so far amounted to one run in the Christmas Hurdle. ‘We had a period when we had much the same sort of thing and it seems it might have come back to haunt us,’ Henderson added. ‘He was scoped last week and was perfectly all right, but you know what it’s like, you can go to bed feeling fine and wake up the next day full of flu.’ Henderson later said Constitution Hill would be scoped again on Friday and is refusing to give up hope, but bookmakers have made State Man, trained by Willie Mullins, the new odds-on favourite for the Champion Hurdle.