Constitution Hill advised to skip Cheltenham Festival by rival trainer

There’s a lot of talk at the moment on Constitution Hill’s next target after his rousing success on the flat at Southwell on Friday.

But the New Lion’s trainer Dan Skelton said he would not “run Constitution Hill over hurdles ever again” at a time where conversation of whether he would go to Cheltenham Festival is rife.

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Constitution Hill routed the field at Southwell on Friday in his first ever race out the stalls on the flat in a bold move by trainer Nicky Henderson.

The 2023 Champion Hurdle winner was subsequently backed in for the 2026 renewal with a renewed confidence in the horse’s winning ability.

The festival itself being just weeks away present plenty of value and potential on ante-post bets ahead of the festival in March.

But Skelton had concerns over Henderson’s plan to send Constitution Hill to Cheltenham.

Speaking the podcast Nick Luck Daily, Skelton explained “It was great, it was great to see I love sport, I love any great performances by any sports person and animal and I just thought it was great.

“It was great to see. It was what everybody wanted to see, they went up there to see it and he delivered. He’s got all that ability and he galloped out like a really good horse.

“For me, what else were you expecting? I don’t understand what bearing that has on whether or not you’d be running in the Champion Hurdle.

“To my mind the only thing that would dictate that would is the schooling at home and what level of risk you were willing to take because that’s ultimately what this conversation has become now and I’m not involved in it, you know?

“But I feel like we’re all involved in it. This is a racing decision that racing is going to have to carry. It’s a really difficult decision for the connections to have to make.

When asked if it is worth the risk, Skelton replied: “I don’t know because I’m not in the position, I can’t see all of the schooling, I don’t know the general feeling.

“But without knowing all of those things my inclination would be to not run over hurdles with the horse ever again.”

Skelton trains The New Lion who is a big fancy at taking over the Champion Hurdle crown having won five from six over hurdles now.

And at just seven-years-old looks to have a promising few years ahead in Grade 1’s, all going well.

The New Lion has the Cheltenham Festival experience behind him too after winning the 2025 Turners Novices’ Hurdle, before winning the Unibet Hurdle in the January Meeting ahead of Nemean Lion.

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