Blood test shows horse has ‘not recovered’ from ailmentLast year’s winner was 1-4 favourite for Cheltenham opener
Constitution Hill, the brilliant and unbeaten winner of last season’s Champion Hurdle, will not defend his crown on the opening day of next week’s Cheltenham Festival after Nicky Henderson, his trainer, was forced to admit defeat on Monday in his efforts to get the seven-year-old ready for the meeting.
In a statement released on his X (Twitter) account on Monday afternoon, Henderson said that while Constitution Hill had “undoubtedly improved over the weekend”, an “all-important blood test shows that although the figures have improved, they are quite a way from being satisfactory for a horse to commence serious training and to race in a week’s time.”