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Ante-post markets shaken after Constitution Hill gallop, but connections left satisfied after Newbury spin.
Connections of Constitution Hill were left satisfied after their stable star galloped alongside Sir Gino at Newbury this morning, but bookmakers were quick to react to the piece of work, pushing him out to as big as 13/8 from 4/7 seven for his intended reappearance in the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on November 30th. As a result, Willie Mullins' Mystical Power was made a general 6/4 shot for the Newcastle Grade 1.
The Nicky Henderson-trained 2023 Champion Hurdle winner hasn't set foot on a racecourse since landing the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton last year. Michael Buckley's unbeaten seven-year-old had the second half of his season completely disrupted after a poor racecourse gallop in February. He was subsequently ruled out of defending his Champion Hurdle crown due to a respiratory infection and taken to an equine hospital with a suspected bout of colic.
Constitution Hill travelled kindly throughout his piece of work under Nico De Boinville but he had to be shaken up to get within a length of stablemate Sir Gino, who was ridden by James Bowen, as the pair crossed the line. A Grade 1 winning juvenile over hurdles, Sir Gino holds an entry in a beginners' chase at Kempton next Monday after Henderson revealed last week his exciting youngster had been rerouted to the novice chase division this season.
"He felt great until about the two (furlong marker) and then he's had a really good blow," said De Boinville on Sky Sports Racing.
"He's come off looking like he's had a really good piece of work. It's soft ground out there and he just needed it a bit, but that will bring him on.
"Turning into the straight, he really locked on and I was just having to say 'whoa, we've got four furlongs to run' so all the ability is there, it's getting him up to full fitness.
"Today will bring him on an awful lot, we've got one more piece of work to go, he'll probably school this week and then we're ready."
Questioned as to whether Constitution Hill felt like a different horse to when he galloped at Kempton last February, De Boinville commented: "Too right. At Kempton I was struggling going into the back straight, I could have pulled him up there and then and probably should have done, but today was great – Sir Gino is a very good horse himself."
Henderson echoed the thoughts of jockey Nico De Boinville and told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast: "It was good, just what we needed. We've had the rain which we've been praying for.
"There's always pressure with horses like him. He's been missing for a bit but there's been nothing wrong with him, that's the most important thing. He hasn't had any big injury or anything. He had a bit of colic but no surgery or anything. He was in training all that time. I think his absence is misunderstood."
The Seven Barrows handler added: "It's not really a comeback. Going back to Sprinter Sacre when he went missing for a year and a half, he had a serious heart problem, this horse hasn't had a serious injury of any description, he's just had a bit of bad luck.
"The Fighting Fifth was abandoned, that was bad luck, he was brilliant at Kempton (Christmas Hurdle) and then he had those two issues – the timing was horrific, but it wasn't his fault.
"We knew that (the old Constitution Hill) was there, he's done plenty of work, he's been doing this for months, but he came in looking rather burlier than he might have done.
"This was double what he did that day when he came with Jonbon. Sir Gino is a very, very good horse.
"You hope, you never expect. He's got to start somewhere, he's been off since Boxing Day but that shouldn't worry him, he's had a good summer, he's had a gallop today and I think we're absolutely spot on."
This season's Champion Hurdle market was also seismically shaken with Constitution Hill, who was no bigger than 7/4 heading into this morning's gallop, now available at 3/1 with Betfair and Paddy Power. The same firms installed Mares' Hurdle winner Lossiemouth as their 5/2 favourite, while her stablemate State Man is also a 3/1 chance.