Nicky Henderson uncertain whether to still run Constitution Hill in 2026 Champion Hurdle

Nicky Henderson admits he is still changing his mind on a daily basis on whether to run his troubled star Constitution Hill in next month’s Champion Hurdle.

The eight-time Grade One winner was long considered by many as the greatest horse of his generation having notched up a 10-race winning streak at the beginning of his career, which included commanding Cheltenham Festival successes in both the 2022 Supreme Novice Hurdle and 2023 Champion Hurdle.

But the nine-year-old’s career has suffered a dramatic nosedive in the last 12 months, having fallen in three of his last four outings – the other seeing him a tailed-off fifth of six at last year’s Punchestown Festival.

The trio of falls has led to calls for Constitution Hill to be retired but Henderson has instead opted to explore the horse’s potential on the flat – where he is expected to line up in the £40,000 SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes over 1m4f at Southwell on Friday evening.

However, Henderson admitted to At The Races on Monday that a return to obstacles next month remains a distinct possibility.

Henderson flip-flopping on 'massive decision'

In an interview with Matt Chapman, Henderson says he hopes to reevaluate plans after Southwell, providing the horse gets a run.

He said: "Let’s hope we get into this race, run, and then re-think. And we’ve got a serious re-think. It’s a massive decision.

"I read last week that Lee [Mottershead, Racing Post] thinks its the biggest decision I’ve had to make in 45 years. Fine. I have to make them on a daily basis.

"It’s very important though. There’s a lot of emotional stuff riding on this whole thing. It comes down to Michael [Buckley, owner] and myself at the end of the day. There’s no point passing the buck.

"You should see the letters we’ve got coming into the yard. Half of them are lovely well-wishes for Sir Gino and then the other 50% are telling us what to do with Constitution Hill.

"On that score [jumping], I would be relatively confident, as hard as that may be to believe. But it’s the emotion of the whole thing isn’t it? There’ll be a lot of heart-wrenching between now and then, let alone on the day.

"My mind changes every day. One minute it’s, ‘come on, you’ve got to go and do this’. Then the next day I think, ‘I can’t’. So, we’ll see.”

Markets offer mixed messages on Constitution Hill’s future

The first step of Constitution Hill’s uncertain journey for the weeks ahead comes on Friday night, where there has been plenty of uncertainty as to whether he’ll even line up.

Having fallen on the wrong side of a ballot draw, Henderson’s charge needed at least two rivals to come out at final declarations – but there was relief on Wednesday morning when it was confirmed that four of the 14-runner field would not be taking up their arrangement.

That seemed to be common knowledge to some, with the horse matched as low as 1/20 on Betfair to get a run earlier this week.

Providing he does line up, Constitution Hill was a 4/6 favourite with several firms for his debut on the level prior to ante post markets being taken down on Wednesday morning.

At the time of writing, the 2023 Champion Hurdler is no bigger than 4/1 with sportsbooks (7/1 exchanges) to sensationally win back his crown next month – a price certain to have altered in one direction or another come the weekend.