Stage set for next instalment of Constitution Hill on the Flat

Nicky Henderson expects to know more about which direction Constitution Hill will be heading in after his race at Kempton on Wednesday.

The 2023 champion hurdler has reverted to Flat racing since he fell in three of his last four races over hurdles.

A wide-margin win at Southwell on his debut made even the most ardent cynics sit up and take notice but with Oisin Murphy suspended, a change in the saddle was required.

Henderson was quick to snap up Ryan Moore and his feedback, allied with Murphy’s, will likely dictate whether he runs in a Pattern race next, should all go well.

Henderson said: “If he gets a handicap mark that would be terrific and then we have all the options open, and after listening to Ryan and Oisin we’ll be able to work out where we should be aiming and over how far.

“Ryan won’t have sat on him beforehand, but he won’t need to and I should suspect he’s probably won Derbys on horses he’s never sat on!”

Moore told Racing TV: “He was very impressive that day (at Southwell) and he’s a very talented horse so I look forward to riding him on Wednesday.

On how high Constitution Hill can go he added: “I don’t know I’m not in a position to say, but what he did at Southwell was impressive so it’ll be step by step.”

Constitution Hill will be long odds-on for the Virgin Bet Novice Stakes but he was a 1-12 winner of the 2023 Christmas Hurdle.

Henderson added: “I sort of wish I hadn’t declared him as I wonder why we put ourselves through this.

“That night at Southwell you could see the point in that, it was to see if it would work, but now it has sort of pivoted into film star land and we are putting all the pressure on ourselves.

“He doesn’t need experience but we’ve got to get on, he is nine so it’s not as if we’ve got a long career in front of us so we’ll see what happens.

“Ryan can help us if things go right and god help us if things go wrong.

“He’s got to repeat Southwell and that’s never a given, the other runners are alien to us, I’m still looking at novice hurdles, it will be fun – I hope!”