Marten Julian’s Weekly Roundup 23 February 2026

I’m not sure that I would agree with those who say that Constitution Hill is held in great affection by the racing public.

It is more a case of intrigue, with the future even more uncertain following his nine and a half lengths defeat of Square Necker at Southwell on Friday evening.

I had suggested beforehand that Constitution Hill would have to run to a mark of 105 to be sure to win. This was based on my giving the runner-up a mark in the high 90s following his three and three-quarter lengths defeat of the 93-rated Nuit at Dundalk.

On his only previous start he had run the now 104-rated Bedouin Price to three-quarters of a length, at level weights.

With the 83-rated Gambino, who was trying to concede 7lbs, almost 11 lengths back in third, I would rate Constitution Hill on an opening mark of at least 105 and quite possibly a little more.

This is an impressive figure for a nine-year-old making his Flat debut, but talk of his winning Group races is premature.

The first important factor is the ground. Constitution Hill has only twice run on good ground and he was once withdrawn when conditions were deemed too quick for him in November, 2022.

The owner Michael Buckley was suggesting that the Ebor or the Melbourne Cup could be possible back-end targets, but he might need to improve a few more pounds to get into those races and then there is the ground to consider, as it’s more likely to be on the quick side than slow at those times of the year.

One question I would have liked to ask in the build-up to last week’s race relates to the horse’s work at home. When Constitution Hill first arrived at Nicky Henderson’s yard, the trainer rang Barry Geraghty, who had sold the horse, to express concern that the horse was showing nothing.

However, the reports of his work are now glowing, but how seriously is he tried at home and who are his galloping companions? It is not as if Nicky Henderson has Group-class Flat performers in his yard. We do, though, have Harry Cobden’s report that at Kempton in a public workout he saw Constitution Hill gallop away from Epatante, but he had beaten her by wide margins on three occasions in races already.

The main dilemma facing Nicky Henderson and Michael Buckley is that they still don’t know why Constitution Hill has fallen three times from his last four starts over hurdles. Southwell has done nothing to answer that question, but it has raised the option of pursuing a Flat campaign.

My view is that if they stay over jumps then they should consider a change of jockey. This is no disrespect to Nico De Boinville, but there seems to be a disconnect in the relationship and the horse may now need someone without a back history to take control, especially at the jumps.

The other factor to consider is the probable repercussions and consequences, notably from outside the industry, if the horse were to fall again. However, the plan is to school him again this week, which suggests that they hope to run him in the Champion Hurdle.

What Southwell has demonstrated is that Constitution Hill has an alternative career open to him, albeit for a limited amount of time due to his age.

Having established that, it seems the expedient option to pursue it.

Bye for now

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