Henderson thrilled with what he is seeing from Constitution Hill

Constitution Hill signalled to the world that his comeback is very definitely on track with a smart racecourse gallop at Newbury on Tuesday morning.

Nicky Henderson’s gelding has had a career of exceptional highs and some rather dispiriting lows so far, with last season unravelling after shock falls at Cheltenham and Aintree and then a below-par effort at Punchestown.

In February last year his career was put on hold following a laboured gallop at Kempton, but any memories of that were banished by a far more heartening scene, as he lengthened his stride under Nico de Boinville to leave his two galloping companions well behind him.

Henderson said: “He’s been in good form all the way through, it’s nice to be able to get out there.

“I know I’ve been saying it for the last two months, but it’s nice to be able to come out and show the world.

“If that was a race I’d have been as confident as you can ever be in a horse, I really was pretty certain that this would go according to plan.

“Everything’s been very good so far. I think he’s lengthened a bit, he’s got slinkier if you like.

“I always thought he was a bit of a block of a horse, he was very square, very solid, he looks like he’s stretched out a bit and I don’t know why, it just occurred to me a few months back.

“I was putting him in his box and I thought ‘you’re a good looking boy’, I’d never looked at him that way. He was always a nice horse, but not a particularly pretty one.”

Reflecting on the trials of last season, Henderson added: “That was a brutal day at Punchestown, it was a whole chapter of disaster and it was my fault, he should never have gone there but they tell you something at home – if only they could talk.

“At Punchestown it was over before the tapes went up, when he turned and faced the other way it was as if he was turning to the stands and looking at me and saying ‘dad, I can’t do this again’.

“He has never done that before, he wouldn’t know how to, but that day that is what he said.

“Whether we go right or left (handed), whether they want soft or fast ground, that’s the easy part, there are lots of other things we have to unravel.

“Hopefully we have, he did go to Worcester as well. I’ve no idea what he was going round with, nobody knew. Half an hour earlier The New Lion was going round so it’s lucky they didn’t get drawn in the same heat!

“We wouldn’t have known, they wouldn’t have known. He went to Worcester called ‘Harry’ that day!

“He was terrific, Nico had him at the back and then let him go and he passed 10 horses in 10 strides and galloped off.”

Of the horse’s upcoming start in the Fighting Fifth, where he will meet the aforementioned The New Lion, Henderson said: “I accept it’s going to be very interesting, but mind you everyone said that with Lossiemouth in the Christmas Hurdle and we’re well up to where we were then. We might even be a bit better.

“This will have brought him on, he’s got to have a school and he probably will do another bit on Sunday or Monday.

“This fellow’s jumping has got to be polished in the next week or two, I’ve got some (padded) hurdles now. We’ll let him have a pop over those.

“The remodelling of the whole thing started after Punchestown, we realised we had to do something and we’ve done a lot of things, we’ve taken him down to every nut and every bolt and put the whole thing back together with a lot of advice and then a bit more.”

Buckley was also a delighted onlooker and told Sky Sports Racing: “He did look strong today, didn’t he?

“His back-end is rounded now, whereas it just fell away before. I think Nicky mentioned it the other day, but he’s a better looking horse now than he was.

“I’m not apprehensive (about the upcoming season), I’m looking forward to it. I think the horse is in pretty good shape, or very good shape as it seems to be.

“He’s happy and the trainer is happy about the horse being happy, Nico is happy about the way the horse feels, so I’m happy!”

He added: “Last season was absolutely gut-wrenching in the end, particularly that fall at Aintree which was horrible, but he seems fine now and hopefully he’s forgotten all about it.”