Constitution Hill: Champion Hurdle winner a doubt for Cheltenham after poor workout

Reigning Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill is a doubt for next month’s Cheltenham Festival after a below-par workout at Kempton Park.

The seven-year-old was an odds-on favourite to retain his title but bookmakers have suspended the market.

Trainer Nicky Henderson took several of his Cheltenham challengers to the track on Tuesday.

But Constitution Hill’s performance at the Sunbury course led Henderson to send him for medical checks.

The horse, who was dubbed “the horse of a generation” by AP McCoy after a comfortable victory at last year’s Festival, has only had one start this season. That came in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day where he won easily under jockey Nico de Boinville, and he missed last month’s Cheltenham Trials Day over fitness concerns.

“Unfortunately, in a routine gallop this morning, Constitution Hill was very disappointing and it transpires, after the vet has scoped him, that there is evidence of mucus,” said Henderson.

“We’re taking a sample of it to a laboratory to analyse it, which will tell us about the significance of it and we should know more after that.

“Last week, he worked brilliantly and he was scoped 10 days ago, but these things happen, just like it did with him earlier in the year.

“Horses are like humans, look how many people had the awful cough around Christmas that took ages to get rid of.

“If it is just mucus, you can clear it up with antibiotics.”

Henderson is hanging on to hope of a swift recovery, and he added: “The vets still think it could clear up in a week and all his serious work has been done already, whether he makes it [to Cheltenham] will depend on the severity of it.

“He was disappointing this morning working with Sir Gino [Triumph Hurdle favourite], who he has worked with in the past. He would normally go easily with him, but this morning he couldn’t, so Nico realised all was not well and wasn’t hard on him.

“Obviously, the mucus was affecting him. He’s not coughing, he’s just got a dirty picture, as we say.

“I’m not saying definitely either way [about Cheltenham] and I’ll keep hoping. As you can imagine, it has come as a bit of a shock.”