Constitution Hill did not impress onlookers in his racecourse gallop at Newbury on Monday morning.
The videos that were put up on X, formerly Twitter, following the gallop showed Constitution Hill being ridden along by Nico de Boinville while Sir Gino galloped effortlessly beside him.
His uninspiring performance has prompted his odds for the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle to drift from 8-13 to 6-4.
And he’s now as long as 4-1 for the Champion Hurdle. He was 8-13 pre-Newbury.
The hype around the Nicky Henderson-trained stable star’s much-awaited return – he hasn’t run since the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton – has been never-ending.
Henderson made positive noises following his last workout at Newbury and, despite Monday morning’s odds drift, was satisfied with the piece of work.
He said: “It was great and we got the work into him. He’s done a lot more today than he did with Jonbon a couple of weeks ago and he needed this gallop.
“He’s ready for action. That made him work and it’s why we’re here. People need to remember this horse has had bad luck. There’s nothing wrong with him, he hasn’t been injured. It’s all part and parcel of the game.
“He’s had a good blow. He’ll do a bit of work at the end of this week as he’s not had a school yet. He hasn’t jumped a hurdle, but I don’t think he needs to. It just keeps his eye in.”
The seven-year-old had the season from hell last year when he was ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival after failing to get back fit for March following a respiratory infection.
Things went from bad to worse at Seven Barrows as their flagship horse was then taken down by a nasty bout of colic.
The pressure has been building as his return date gets closer, but following his slightly laboured romp around Newbury this morning, fans and punters are beginning to doubt he is back to his best.
A spokesperson for Bet MGM, Sam Behar, said: “The last time we saw Constitution Hill gallop it set alarm bells ringing and today’s outing at Newbury perhaps wasn’t quite as promising as many would have hoped.
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“Stablemate Sir Gino seemed to work better than the 2023 Champion Hurdler and as a result we’ve pushed Constitution Hill out to 5/6 from 4/6 for next Saturday’s BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.”
Punters were not particularly impressed either and took to commenting on X to voice their concerns.
One said: “Looks dreadful – but that could just be Nico riding How can he not make a horse travel without pushing and shoving it along?”
One asked the rhetorical question: “He’s finished isn’t he?”
While another added: “Connie Hill towing a bit there.”
One questioned: “Why did Sir Gino look way more comfortable?”
Betfair Spokesman Barry Orr said: ‘’Following Constitution Hill’s racecourse gallop this morning at Newbury punters have wanted to be with Mystical Power – 7/4 from 10/3 – for the Fighting Fifth and Constitution Hill is 6/4 against from 8/13’’
‘’ In the Champion Hurdle betting, Constitution Hill, is now 4/1 from 11/8 and has been replaced at the head of the betting by Lossiemouth 5/2 fav and State Man 3/1.”
Earlier this month, Willie Mullins’ unveiled his master plan to beat the fan-favourite.
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