The Cheltenham Festival has seen pretty much everything over the decades but nothing quite like Constitution Hill in Tuesday’s Unibet Champion Hurdle.
After just five races, the Nicky Henderson-trained prodigy already ranks among the finest hurdlers of all time based on some ratings.
Constitution Hill’s performance in landing the Supreme on this day a year ago had Timeform’s abacus whirling. The figure they came up with (177) has been exceeded by just a handful of two-mile hurdlers ever. They include legends of the game such as Night Nurse and Monksfield.
However, it is the ‘P’ for plus Timeform put next to that 177 that’s most significant. It signifies the respected organisation’s belief that Constitution Hill is capable of significantly better.
If they are correct, and circumstances conspire suitably, then just after 3.30 the famous old racing amphitheatre could find itself staging a performance for the ages.
There have been races down those ages that have come with anticipation levels through the roof. The most famous of all is still probably Arkle’s 1964 Gold Cup head-to-head with Mill House.
But there is a singular anticipation surrounding Constitution Hill that’s more akin to the flat and the emergence of a classic great.
A dozen years ago Frankel also had five races under his belt before his first ‘statement’ victory in the 2,000 Guineas. He proceeded to a superb unbeaten career to rank with any flat champion ever.
Constitution Hill’s emergence has come with similar precocity, a novice success followed by four Grade Ones, all in superb fashion.
In comparison, Arkle was ordinary over hurdles. Kauto Star was beaten six times in his native France. Istabraq’s excellence was slow-burning in comparison. Constitution Hill though has looked the real deal pretty much straight away.
It means the depth of excitement surrounding this six-year-old ex-Irish point to pointer is unparalleled. Apparently possessed of a bombproof temperament, even his connections admit there’s no limit on his potential.
Already there have been predictions he will ultimately emulate Dawn Run by completing the Champion Hurdle – Gold Cup double.
That’s wildly presumptive before the first leg has even been run, while evoking great names of the past is also dangerously dismissive of Tuesday’s opposition.
With the last two winners of the race, Honeysuckle and Epatante, taking up the following Mares Hurdle option, it is a regrettably shallow Champion Hurdle in terms of other star names apart from State Man.
Willie Mullins’s No. 1 hope is a proven festival winner and proved his tactical versatility with an all-the-way success in last month’s Irish Champion.
In any other year State Man’s connections would be disappointed to emerge from the Champion Hurdle without the crown. This time he could run the race of his life and still be overwhelmed, reduced to a touchpoint for handicap wonks to work out Constitution Hill’s place in the pantheon.
Whether it is flat or jumps, racing has a long history of putting back in their box young talents hyped as the next big thing way too quickly. The memory of Samcro can always be used as a salutary bucket of cold water to be poured over dangerous levels of hype.
Such is the level of expectation around Constitution Hill that he could become champion, win convincingly by a couple of lengths, and Cheltenham will be left underwhelmed.
Another previous ‘next big thing’ was Florida Pearl. He ultimately put together a superb career without ever fully shaking a sense of having failed to live up to ridiculous expectations.
In the here and now however, the world still looks to be at the feet of this latest wunderkind.
If he can range up in the same way he did in last year’s Supreme then the various Cheltenham roofs might come off such are the levels of hope invested in this horse.
Henderson’s near half-century long career has seen him have superb talents through his hands such as Sprinter Sacre and Altior. But Constitution Hill could be another level again. You suspect even he knows protests of cautions are useless but he tried anyway.
“One must not get too carried away at this stage of life. He is only a young horse that has had five races in his life, six if you include the point-to-point that he didn’t win,” he pointed out.
“This is why he is such a good horse as his whole demeanour is so laid back. Nothing bothers him and nothing gets him very excited.
“You wouldn’t pick him out in a crowd, whereas Sprinter and Altior you definitely would as they would tell you who they were.
“Constitution Hill doesn’t do that. He eats, he sleeps, he gets up and does what work you ask him to and he goes back to bed. It is all very straightforward,” Henderson added.
Come 3.35 there may be no need for Constitution Hill to tell anyone anymore who he is.
