Constitution Hill let the world know his comeback is most certainly on track with a smart gallop on the Newbury racecourse on Tuesday morning.
Nicky Henderson’s gelding has had a career so far that has seen exceptional highs and some rather disheartening lows, collapsing last season after shock falls at Cheltenham and Aintree and then a sub-par performance at Punchestown.
In February last year his career was halted after a difficult gallop at Kempton, but all memories of it were banished by a much more encouraging scene, when he lengthened his pace under Nico de Boinville, leaving his two galloping companions far behind.
Henderson said: “He’s been in good form all the time, it’s nice to be able to get out there.
“I know I’ve said it for the last two months, but it’s nice to be able to come out and show it to the world.
“If that had been a race I would have had as much confidence as you can ever have on a horse, I was really quite confident that this would go to plan.
“So far everything has been really good. I think he’s gotten a little taller, he’s gotten leaner, if you like.
“I always thought he was a bit of a block horse, he was very square, very sturdy, he looks like he’s a bit stretched out and I don’t know why, I only noticed it a few months ago.
“I put him in his box and I thought ‘you look good’. I had never looked at him like that before. He was always a nice horse, but not particularly beautiful.”
Reflecting on last season’s trials, Henderson added: “That was a brutal day in Punchestown, it was a whole chapter of disaster and it was my fault. He should never have gone there, but they tell you something at home – if only they could talk.
“At Punchestown it was over before the tires went up. When he turned and looked the other way, it was as if he turned to the stands and looked at me and said, ‘Dad, I can’t do this again.’
‘He’s never done that before, he wouldn’t know how, but that’s what he said that day.
“Whether we go right or left (by hand), whether they want soft ground or fast ground, that’s the easy part, there are a lot more things we need to unravel.
“Hopefully we did, he went to Worcester too. I have no idea what he was driving around, no one knew. The New Lion went around half an hour earlier so it’s lucky they didn’t get caught in the same heat!”
“We wouldn’t have known, they wouldn’t have known. He went to Worcester that day and his name was ‘Harry’!”
“He was great, Nico had him in the back and then let him go and he passed 10 horses in 10 steps and galloped away.”
Speaking about the horse’s upcoming start in the Fighting Fifth, where he will meet the aforementioned The New Lion, Henderson said: “I accept it’s going to be very interesting, but mind you, everyone said that with Lossiemouth in the Christmas Hurdle and we’re well on our way to where we were then. Maybe we’re even a little bit better.”
“This must have made him do it, he has to go to school and he will probably do another piece on Sunday or Monday.
“This guy’s jumping needs to be polished in the next two weeks, I have some (filled) obstacles now. We’ll get him over those.
“The rebuilding of the whole thing started after Punchestown. We realized we had to do something and we did a lot of things. We went through it down to the last detail and put the whole thing back together with a lot of advice and then some.”
Buckley was also a delighted spectator, telling Sky Sports Racing: “He looked strong today, didn’t he?
“His backside is round now, whereas before it just fell away. I think Nicky said it the other day, but he looks better now than he was.
“I’m not worried about the coming season, I’m looking forward to it. I think the horse is in quite good condition, or in very good condition as it seems to be.”
“He is happy and the trainer is happy that the horse is happy, Nico is happy with how the horse feels, so I am happy!”
He added: “Last season was absolutely heartbreaking in the end, especially that fall at Aintree which was horrible, but he seems fine now and hopefully he’s completely forgotten about it.”
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