Constitution Hill lived up to his tall reputation with a brilliant performance to land the odds in the Unibet Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown.
Sent off the 2-5 favourite for the two-mile Grade One contest after making a striking winning debut over the same course and distance five weeks ago, the Nicky Henderson-trained five-year-old put in a top-class display.
However, Henderson was not at the track to see his sixth winner of the race as he is in self-isolation at home after testing positive for Covid-19.
Conditions may have been much heavier than on his debut, but Constitution Hill coped admirably with the heavy ground under a confident ride by Nico de Boinville.
Constitution storms to the Unibet Tolworth Novices' Hurdle 🏆
A really solid showing in these difficult conditions
Watch LIVE📺 @ITV4 📱 https://t.co/FI4VjrJa48#ITVRacing pic.twitter.com/7N7sV0zOKx
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) January 8, 2022
Jetoile made the running until the second-last flight, where Constitution Hill took over and was soon in command. Clear at the last, the Michael Buckley-owned winner went on to score by 12 lengths from the game Jetoile.
Constitution Hill was cut to 9-4 from 7-2 with Betfair and 2-1 from 7-2 with Coral for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival – where he looks set to clash with equally-exciting stablemate Jonbon.
De Boinville said: “This is some horse, I couldn’t believe when I looked round how far clear I was. That was bottomless ground, but he’s made light work of it. He has just gone through it so easily and it was just a case of get him to the line.
“I was very relaxed throughout the race – he is very straightforward and he is asleep most of the time. He is simply a relaxed individual.
“He’s such a likeable horse, he’s so easy, and I believe there’s more to come. He’s very, very straightforward.
“We knew he was good from what he was doing at home, but it’s always nice to see it translate to the track and now he’s backed it (debut) up.
⭐️ Constitution Hill – some prospect @Sandownpark pic.twitter.com/ju4L66Y4V8
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) January 8, 2022
“It was a great performance, he’s push button – he’s a jockey’s dream.
“He was fantastic there today. I was blown away by that – that was special.”
On a showdown with Jonbon, De Boinville said: “I’m sure they’ll meet at Cheltenham, all being well, and that will be a great match up. They’re very different horses, with very different dispositions, but it’s exciting and it’s exciting for the yard.
“He had an education through the race and I’m not worried he hasn’t been tested. He is very exciting and it is exciting to have some very good horses in the yard.”
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