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Nicky Henderson believes the danger of sending Constitution Hill again over hurdles was “too high” and that his 48-yr coaching profession may have come to an end had something dangerous occurred to his 2023 Champion Hurdle winner at the Cheltenham Festival.
The six-time champion coach made a decision he described as being one of the hardest he has ever had to make on Wednesday when, together with Michael Buckley, he introduced the 9-yr-outdated’s leaping profession had come to an end after his successful Flat debut at Southwell.
Speaking at Newbury on Friday, Henderson defined that the “consequences were unthinkable” and he would have been held accountable had Constitution Hill suffered the fourth fall of his profession in the Unibet Champion Hurdle on March 10.
The coach mentioned: “We knew what the risk factor was. It was too high, and the consequences were unthinkable. That’s what it kept coming down to. One minute, he goes to Southwell, and he’s done the most spectacular job for British racing. Then you realise what damage you could do if you went the other way and it went wrong. I’d say I would’ve packed up. It would have been the end of me if he got hurt, without a doubt.”
Henderson has been inundated with letters from members of the public, and even legal professionals, relating to what he ought to have finished with Constitution Hill.
He mentioned: “You want to see the letters we got from lawyers saying we’d be sued, but don’t think I’m taking any notice, they went straight in the bin. They were literally threatening legal action. We were not running scared of public opinion.
“Lots of occasions, I assumed we wished to go on hurdling, however we knew what we had to do, and we knew the place we have been. Michael got here down, and all of us had a great chat, and most of the people appear to suppose it was the proper factor to do.”
Constitution Hill: made a remarkable winning debut on the FlatCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Henderson has not yet mapped out a plan for the remainder of 2026 but has been inundated with offers from all around the globe to host Constitution Hill.
“I’ve got so many affords,” the trainer said. “Every racecourse I’ve ever heard of has got a race for him, in each nation you’ll be able to suppose of. He’s going to have to get a really fats passport if he’s going to go to all the nations that need us to.
“A lot of people said the John Porter at Newbury [on April 18] would be a nice race for him, and I’d agree. It’s down the road and will be nice ground. Those are the sort of races you’d look at and see where he takes us.
“It’s fantastic to be considering like this after one mile-and-a-half race on the all-climate. We’ve instantly gone from that to speaking about Group races. Loads of horses who win novices are nonetheless on the lookout for expertise earlier than they go there. The one factor he’s got is age and expertise, and he might be match.”
Read these subsequent:
Constitution Hill: the rise, dominance and drama of the hurdling champion
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