Cheltenham Festival: Constitution Hill lives up the hype with stunning Champion Hurdle win

Those convinced Constitution Hill is a rare racing talent can continue to dream of what he might achieve after a Unibet Champion Hurdle victory at Cheltenham on Tuesday that bordered on the routine.

It’s a rare festival championship that gets filed under ‘fait accompli’ but this was as close as it gets.

The shortest-priced winner in the race’s history at 4-11 barely looked out of second gear to beat his nearest market rival State Man by nine lengths, with jockey Nico De Boinville casually saluting the crowd in the closing stages.

Only arch-critics, perhaps with Annie Power’s infamous spill in mind at the same obstacle in 2015, could point to a long and exuberant leap at the final flight as a blemish on an otherwise faultless performance.

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Instead, a first championship success holds the heady promise of being the first of many, a single date in a long list to define the sport in a way few others ever have.

Trainer Nicky Henderson had won the Champion Hurdle eight times previously but was never before forced to field questions about a range of long-term options like this.

Even before Tuesday’s race some bookmakers were dangling odds about Constitution Hill eventually emulating Dawn Run by winning the Champion Hurdle and proceeding to eventually land the Gold Cup over fences.

Perhaps the greatest compliment to Constitution Hill is that right now such queries can’t be dismissed as fanciful nonsense.

There doesn’t appear to be a chink in this horse’s armour. Once again, he was ‘push-button’ for De Boinville. He relaxed perfectly off a pace set by I Like To Move It, consistently outjumped that one and still looked to be dossing in front before the turn-in.

By then Paul Townend had smuggled State Man into a challenging position. The Irish hope is no mug and would have been a worthy Champion Hurdle winner in most other years. Here he got reduced to little more than trial tackle.

When De Boinville asked for speed the response was instant, decisive and close on effortless.

“It’s just a matter of when you push the button. The ground is hard work and I didn’t want to get going too soon. He’s won hard-held,” De Boinville said. “Anyone who backed for 10 lengths or more – I apologise!”

Constitution Hill had barely passed the post before statisticians were handicapping the performance in the broader context of hurdling’s other great performers.

Right now, the Champion Hurdle crown looks his for as long as he wants it, or at least how long his connections want it.

“You can do anything with this horse. You could jump a fence, you could go three miles. He has had six races now and has barely come off the bridle, but it won’t last forever so let’s enjoy it while we have got it,” said Henderson.

“Sprinter Sacre did amazing things for us. This horse has got into those echelons after six races. It is an extraordinary thing to happen. But he is an extraordinary horse,” he added.