Is Constitution Hill running at Royal Ascot?

Royal Ascot is all set for its blockbuster five-day meeting but Constitution Hill will NOT be amongst the runners.

The former champion hurdler was switched to the Flat by trainer Nicky Henderson after a string of blunders that saw him hit the deck on three of his final four starts over hurdles.

It took 11 races before Constitution Hill was finally defeated over Jumps and he made a similarly impressive start to his career on the level; winning both of his races so far.

The nine-year-old started with a bang, recording a nine-and-a-half-length victory at Southwell before following up with a two-length success at Kempton little over a month later.

Given the Ascot Gold Cup had been a mooted target in the past, attentions immediately turned to whether or not we would see Constitution Hill rock up at the Royal meeting, however, connections decided they would chart a different path toward Group company.

The handicapper awarded Constitution Hill with a BHA rating of 101, all but confirming that he will race in pattern company when he returns.

Constitution Hill was intended runner in the Group 3 John Porter Stakes at Newbury back in April but connections decided to pull stumps on that particular plan due to the going.

"Having spoken with Michael Buckley [owner], we’ve taken the decision not to run Constitution Hill at Newbury on Saturday," Henderson wrote on X.

It’s very frustrating as we were keen to run, but after walking the course with George Hill [clerk of the course] this morning we felt the ground is just too quick for him — he’s a big, heavy horse and we couldn’t take the risk."

Now off for the summer, the son of Blue Bresil will return later in the year where the chances of encountering slower conditions is far more likely.

There is yet to be an announcement on a specific target but Constitution Hill did receive an interesting entry in the Irish St Leger.

The Group 1 event is Ireland's premier staying contest, forming part of Irish Champions weekend and would really test his credentials at the top level. If he does take his chance, there should be a high quality field in opposition, including Classic winner Scandinavia and defending champion Al Riffa.