Constitution Hill

In recent times, Constitution Hill has found fame in the sphere of Flat racing, at the time of writing, winning both starts with consummate ease, by an aggegrate of over 11 lengths, and earning an official handicap rating of 101. After just two runs, that marks him out as a high-class handicapper, at the very least but, rising 10, it will be interesting to see if he is capable of further progress.

In any event, Constitution Hill remains, jointly, the sixth highest-rated hurdler in the history of Timeform, which first published ratings for National Hunt racing in the early sixties. Owned by Michael Buckley and trained by Nicky Henderson, the Blue Bresil gelding won 10 of his 11 completed starts over obstacles, including eight of Grade 1 level, and amassed £882,000 in prize money.

Constitution Hill achieved his most notable success on March 14, 2023, when, in the hands of Nico De Boinville, he justified odds of 4/11 with an impressive, nine-length victory over State Man in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. That was, in fact, his second win at the Festival after a 22-length demolition of Jonbon in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle the previous year, prompting Tony McCoy to say of him, “He’s the horse of a generation, maybe a horse we talk about for generations.”

Sadly, Constitution Hill subsequently lost his confidence over hurdles, leading to high-profile falls in the Champion Hurdle, Aintree Hurdle and Fighting Fifth Hurdle in 2025. Calling time on his hurdling career, in February 2026, Henderson told the ‘Racing Post’, “His work has been brilliant, and he’s technically the best jumper I’ve seen over hurdles in my life, but I just can’t risk it. Michael [Buckley] was here, and we said the same thing. We both just agreed we couldn’t face any more of him over them.”