Constitution Hill missed last year's Cheltenham Festival after picking up an infection but he has enjoyed two wins over the winter and has the 2025 Champion Hurdle in his sights.
Nicky Henderson's stable star made a winning return at Kempton on Boxing Day and subsequently landed the Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham in January, proving his Champion Hurdle claims further.
Name: Constitution Hill |
Age: 8 |
Weight: 11-10 |
Trainer: Nicky Henderson |
Winnings: £876,865 |
Cheltenham Festival wins: 2 |
Runs | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
10 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
Constitution Hill is an eight-year-old gelding, having made his debut as a four-year-old at Sandown back in 2021.
Constitution Hill almost exclusively runs off 11-10, which is the weight he will carry in the 2025 Champion Hurdle.
The unbeaten Constitution Hill won two open Grade 1s in 2022, with success in Newcastle's Fighting Fifth Hurdle and then the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton.
Those wins were by a combined margin of 29-lengths and with Nico de Boinville's partner scarcely taken out of second gear.
They created a veneer of invincibility around Henderson's latest superstar, which was enough to strengthen his position as favourite for the Champion Hurdle.
There was enormous hype surrounding Constitution Hill, who won the Supreme Novices' Hurdle by 22 lengths from Jonbon at Cheltenham in March 2022.
Some observers may have questioned whether he was really as good as others claimed, but he answered the doubters emphatically with another Festival victory in 2023.
The six-year-old was prominent throughout the Champion Hurdle and justified the 4/11 favourite tag with a stunning display which saw him win by nine lengths from State Man - and the margin of victory could have been wider.
Connections then decided to run him at the Grand National Festival in April and, once again, the gelding delivered the goods with a three-length victory over Sharjah in the Aintree Hurdle over 2m4f.
His seasonal reappearance at Kempton on Boxing Day was ominous as he triumphed in the Christmas Hurdle, and it was seemingly full steam ahead for the Cheltenham Festival.
Unfortunately, his poor scope at Kempton led to his withdrawal from the 2024 Festival and wind surgery soon followed for Henderson's stable star.
And, 366 days later, Constitution Hill returned to the track and in fashion, too, beating Lossiemouth to land the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton.
He followed up just a month later by beating Lossiemouth to land the Unibet Hurdle on his first run at Cheltenham since his Champion Hurdle success in 2023.
He travelled well throughout that triumph at Prestbury Park and overcame a mistake at the last to make it a winning return to a track he loves - and one he will be looking to follow up at in March.
Constitution Hill's next race will be the 2025 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Michael Buckley bought Constitution Hill for £120,000 in May 2021.
Buckley has owned horses for a number of decades now, with notable runners including Beat That, New York Rainbow, Spirit Son and Toast Of New York all sporting his famous white silks over the years to varying levels of success.
Constitution Hill is trained by legendary trainer Nicky Henderson.
Constitution Hill is the highest rated hurdler in British racing with an official mark of 175, 17lb higher than second-best Langer Dan.
He earned his current mark of 175 following his success in the Champion Hurdle at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival and has since won four times off the same rating.
Constitution Hill has racked up a total prize money figure of £876,865 in his career so far.
Last year, Constitution Hill's high-profile poor scope after a Cheltenham warm-up at Kempton, and Henderson's subsequent withdrawal announcement, sent shockwaves through the racing sphere, with many ante-post punters among those most hurt by the news.
But, having landed two wins over the winter, it seems safe to say that Britain's best hurdler is back and he is ready to battle State Man for his Champion Hurdle crown.
Much has been made of the eight-year-old's mistake at the last hurdle during his January win but Henderson did not seem to flustered by it, stating "he's fine, he's back and he's safe and sound."
The Seven Barrows supremo then went on to say "he was too fresh, but they were going so slow and he had to do what he had to do. It wasn't ideal, but come March I'm sure there'll be a bit more pace around."
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.