There was another twist to what is becoming a sorry tale here on Saturday as Constitution Hill, whose first two seasons over jumps led him to being ranked among the finest hurdlers of all time, fell for the third time in his past four starts in the early stages of a much-anticipated Fighting Fifth Hurdle.
The New Lion, unbeaten in five starts, also fell in the closing stages, leaving Golden Ace to pick up the pieces at long odds, just as she had in a similarly dramatic Champion Hurdle in March after Constitution Hill suffered the first fall of his career.
Golden Ace was a 25-1 chance at Cheltenham and a 22-1 shot here. While her odds were trimmed slightly for next year’s festival, the 16-1 still on offer for a successful defence of her crown is a fair reflection of her place in the pecking order over hurdles. She will never be rated within 20lb of Constitution Hill at his peak, but that Constitution Hill seems to be gone for good, replaced by an impostor whose confidence at the hurdles is shot to bits.
There was a jovial cheer from a big and boisterous Newcastle crowd as Constitution Hill cleared the first hurdle . He had been sent off as favourite for the 13th time in 14 starts, despite falls at Cheltenham and Aintree in the spring and a dismal run in the Boodles Champion Hurdle at Punchestown in early May, when he looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but on a racecourse.
But there was only a deep, collective groan of despair as Constitution Hill guessed and guessed again at the second flight, seemingly unsure of even the jumping basics. The result was inevitable and left Nicky Henderson, his trainer, who was watching on from Newbury, in despair at his stable star’s precipitous decline.
Lingfield 11.30 Luminous Warrior 12.00 Banyan 12.30 Prince Quattro 1.00 Knight Of Glory 1.30 Warrnambool (nap) 2.00 Likealot 2.30 Salaria 3.00 Shalfa 3.30 Forest Gunner (nb)
Southwell 12.52 As Legends Have It 1.22 Livy’s Lad 1.52 Typhoon Warrior 2.22 Moyganny Phil 2.52 Duel Au Soleil 3.23 Ballyhiho
Newcastle 3.12 Miners Gamble 3.43 Art Gallery 4.15 Crown The Future 4.45 Forest Caper 5.15 Somebody 5.45 Concert Boy 6.15 King’s School 6.45 Hunky Dory
“First and foremost he’s fine, which is all that matters,” Henderson told ITV Racing. “I loved the way he went and jumped the first and then, I just can’t believe it.”
“It’s getting to something. Let’s all think about it and let’s not be rash, but it’s sad, it’s really sad. You can’t keep asking him to do it, it doesn’t seem fair on anybody.
“Poor Michael [Buckley, Constitution Hill’s owner], I could cry for him. We’ve done everything, why has this habit crept in? It’s hard to go on watching it, but I can’t do any more.
“Everybody has got their own ideas and we’ve listened to every theory in the book. His jumping has been great. His work has just been superb, but you’ve got to jump eight flights of hurdles and at the moment that’s something he doesn’t seem able to do.”
The New Lion also emerged unscathed from his fall and unlike Constitution Hill he is a horse with his prime ahead of him. “They were going so fast, proper two-mile championship speed,” said Dan Skelton, The New Lion’s trainer. “It’s not ideal to be on the floor. We’ll dust ourselves down and get him jumping. I think he’d have won, but that’s only my opinion and he didn’t stand up.”
Ayr 12.15 Jirko 12.45 Upon Tweed 1.15 Shoeshine Boy 1.45 Rock On Jet 2.15 Laddie Cooper Mia 2.45 Red Cadillac 3.15 Broadway Ted
Kempton 12.27 Shipbourne 12.57 You’ll Think Of Me 1.27 American Flight 1.57 King’s Trail 2.27 Louie The Legend 2.57 Rainwater 3.27 Chancellor 3.57 United Approach
Plumpton 12.35 Birdman Bob 1.05 Fresh Kicks 1.35 Cueros 2.05 Touquet 2.35 Jackstell 3.05 No More Bolero 3.35 Mescalero
Wolverhampton 4.25 Comic Strip 5.00 Codiak 5.30 Searchingtheblues 6.00 Forest Gunner 6.30 Ribble Vibe 7.00 Homme De Fer 7.30 The Cola Kid (NB) 8.00 The Dark Baron (nap) 8.30 Guinness Lad
Skelton’s afternoon improved significantly an hour later as Panic Attack, the Paddy Power Gold Cup winner two weeks ago, followed up in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury, becoming the fourth horse in 60 years to complete the double in the same year.
The £142k first prize extended Skelton’s lead in the UK Trainers’ Championship and he was cut to 1-5 by Paddy Power to win the title for the first time. Willie Mullins, who has pipped Skelton at the post in late April in the past two seasons, is 9-4 to complete a hat-trick, while Henderson and Paul Nicholls are priced up at 25-1.
