Constitution Hill a spectacular winner on Flat debut at Southwell
By Andy Stephens
Last Updated: Fri 20 Feb 2026
Constitution Hill was a spectacular winner on his Flat debut at Southwell on Friday night.
One of the great hurdlers of the modern era switched codes after falling in three of his past four runs over Jumps and was guided to a scintillating nine-and-a-half length victory under five-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy, who afterwards said he was "a joy to ride".
It was his first success since landing the Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham almost 13 months ago, when he was extending his then unbeaten sequence over hurdles to ten.
The nine-year-old, trained by Nicky Henderson, lined up with a dozen others in the £40,000 SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes, over 12 furlongs, with most of his rivals also having a National Hunt background.
This, though, was a one-horse race.
Constitution Hill stalked the leaders from the outset, racing zestfully, and once Murphy invited him to put his stamp on the race, he accelerated clear.
We are none the wiser as to whether his jumping frailties remain, but this exercise shows that at least some of his powers are still fully intact. And then some.
Henderson and owner Michael Buckley must now decide whether to run him in the Unibet Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on Tuesday fortnight, or concentrate on a Flat career with him.
He was a best-priced 9-2 for the Champion Hurdle, a race he won in spectacular style in 2023, before the race.
More to follow…
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