Constitution Hill Southwell hopes boosted

Hopes of Constitution Hill making his Flat debut at Southwell received a significant boost on Monday after it was confirmed 14 horses will be allowed to run in the SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes – and Secret Squirrel will not be among them.

Having fallen in three of his last four races over hurdles, Nicky Henderson had  been hoping to give Constitution Hill a confidence-boosting run on the level, but he is not yet guaranteed a place in the final field after receiving a ballot number of 16 on Sunday, at which stage it was uncertain whether the maximum field would be capped at 12 or 14 runners.

However, the British Horseracing Authority provided a further update on Monday afternoon, confirming a 14-runner field will go to post.

Tom Byrne, the BHA’s Head of Racing and Betting, said: “Two additional stable boxes have been made available at Southwell’s fixture on Friday following a proposal by the racecourse which has been approved by the BHA.

“This means that the stabling capacity for the fixture has increased from 108 to 110, and as a result the field size limit for the SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes is up to 14 from 12. This will now guarantee that a maximum of 14 runners will get into the race following Wednesday’s declarations.

“The additional stabling capacity has been allocated to the Class 2 SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes considering the high demand for the race and that it is number one in the race sequence should any capacity otherwise arise due to the declaration numbers in other races.

“It is important to note that no horse who might currently expect to get a run at Southwell on Friday is being prevented from doing so following this field size limit increase. Should any stabling capacity become available after declarations, the Class 3 Handicap will remain eligible to increase up to a maximum of 14.

“The additional stable boxes meet the same standards as other stables at the racecourse, as approved by the BHA Inspector of Courses.”

The news means Constitution Hill now needs just two horses ahead of him in the elimination sequence not to be declared to make the cut and one of those is Hughie Morrison’s Secret Squirrel, who made his return from a year on the sidelines with a third place finish in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton on Saturday.

While delighted with his seven-year-old’s comeback performance, Morrison has ruled out the possibility of him making a swift return at Southwell.

“I was thrilled with his run, but happier that he got round and trotted up nice and sound yesterday morning,” the Summerdown handler told the Press Association.

“He’s still only seven and the family get better with age. So far he’s not showing any sign of the setbacks you sometimes get after a problem.

“The difficulty is finding another suitable race for him. Ideally he’d have a couple of quiet weeks and we’ll look to run him again in a month.

“We’ll put in him in the County Hurdle (at the Cheltenham) because there are so few other options really, but we’re very happy and hopefully we might be able to look at the Scottish Champion Hurdle.”

Both Sky Bet and Paddy Power make Constitution Hill their 4-6 favourite for a mile and a half contest that was moved in the calendar and saw its prize-money boosted to £40,000, with Square Necker rated his biggest threat at 7-4 on what will be his first start for trainer Kevin Philippart De Foy.

“It was always the plan to run in this race and we’re delighted they moved it back a week and increased the prize-money,” said the Newmarket handler.

“The horse is in good form, he has to carry a penalty in a novice race that will be competitive enough, but he’s been training well and we’re happy with him.”

The Amo Racing-owned four-year-old finished third on his Doncaster debut for Ralph Beckett last March and was last seen opening his account with a clear-cut win at Dundalk for Robson De Aguiar, since when he has moved to Newmarket.

Philippart De Foy added: “His form of his race in Ireland looks good as the second had decent form (Nuit, rated 93) and he won well that day, carrying a bit of extra weight.

“Hopefully he can transfer his form to Southwell on Friday. It’s quite interesting of course, we’re excited and looking forward to it.”