Constitution Hill falls again as Golden Ace storms to Fighting Fifth Hurdle victory

There was another twist to what is becoming a sad story here on Saturday when Constitution Hill, whose first two seasons over jumps put him among the best hurdlers of all time, fell for the third time in his past four starts in the early stages of a much-anticipated Fighting Fifth Hurdle.

The New Lion, unbeaten in five starts, also fell in the closing stages, leaving Golden Ace to pick up the pieces by a wide margin, just as she had done in an equally dramatic Champion Hurdle in March after Constitution Hill suffered the first fall of his career.

Golden Ace was a 25-1 shot at Cheltenham and a 22-1 shot here. Although her odds for next year’s festival were slightly reduced, the 16-1 still on offer for a successful defense of her crown is a fair reflection of her place in the pecking order over hurdles. She will never be estimated within 20 pounds of Constitution Hill at its peak, but that Constitution Hill appears to be gone for good, replaced by an impostor whose confidence has been shattered at the hurdles.

There was a jovial cheer from a large and boisterous crowd in Newcastle as Constitution Hill cleared the first hurdle. He had been sent off as favorite for the 13th time in 14 starts, despite falls at Cheltenham and Aintree in the spring and a dismal run in the Boodles Champion Hurdle at Punchestown in early May when he looked as if he wanted to be anywhere other than a racecourse.

But there was only a deep, collective groan of despair, as Constitution Hill gambled and gambled again on the second flight, seemingly unsure of even the basics of jumping. The result was inevitable and Nicky Henderson, his trainer, watching from Newbury, despaired at the precipitous decline of his stable star.

“First and foremost he’s doing well, that’s all that matters,” Henderson told ITV Racing. “I loved the way he went and jumped first and after that, I just can’t believe it.”

“It leads to something. Let’s all think about it and not be rash, but it’s sad, it’s really sad. You can’t keep asking him to do it, it doesn’t seem fair to anyone.”

“Poor Michael [Buckley, Constitution Hill’s owner]I could cry for him. We have done everything, why has this habit crept in? It’s hard to keep watching it, but that’s all I can do.

“Everyone has their own ideas and we listened to every theory in the book. His jumping was great. His work was just fantastic, but you have to jump eight obstacles and at the moment he doesn’t seem to be able to do that.”

The New Lion also emerged from his fall unscathed and unlike Constitution Hill, he is a horse with his top in front of him. “They went so fast, real champion two-mile speed,” said Dan Skelton, The New Lion’s trainer. “It’s not ideal to be on the ground. We’re going to dust ourselves off and get him jumping. I think he would have won, but that’s just my opinion and he didn’t get up.”

Skelton’s afternoon improved considerably an hour later when Panic Attack, winner of the Paddy Power Gold Cup two weeks ago, succeeded in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury and became the fourth horse in 60 years to complete the double in the same year.

The first prize of £142,000 extended Skelton’s lead in the UK Trainers’ Championship and he was reduced to 1–5 by Paddy Power to win the title for the first time. Willie Mullins, who beat Skelton in the post in late April for the past two seasons, is 9-4 for a hat-trick, while Henderson and Paul Nicholls are priced at 25-1.