Constitution Hill: who does he have to beat on Wednesday?

Constitution Hill will face seven rivals in his bid to make it two wins from as many starts on the Flat after an emphatic nine and a half-length victory at Southwell.

The nine-year-old earnt a Timeform rating of 106P for that success and sets a high standard for Wednesday’s Virgin Bet Novice Stakes over a mile and a half at Kempton, due off at 7.30pm.

Ryan Moore’s mount should have plenty in hand if everything goes according to plan, but who are his main rivals?

The four-year-old son of Ulysses is similarly unexposed on the Flat with one start and one win, also at Southwell over this trip, albeit that is his only run of any kind.

That run came in September last year, so he has a six-month lay-off to overcome, and his nearest pursuer that day was Aajej, who has a current BHA rating of 80.

A son of Ulysses, his dam is a half-sister to Desert Skyline, winner of the Doncaster Cup, so much like Constitution Hill, expect to see him stepped up in trip at some stage. He could be a pace angle from stall one should he break on terms here, although he was slowly away on debut.

The joint second-oldest runner in the line-up, the seven-year-old is lightly-raced for his age, with seven starts under Rules. A winning pointer, he has three victories to his name over hurdles but is winless in two starts so far on the all-waather, with his best effort coming when finishing second at Southwell three weeks ago over 1m3f.

His only other run on the level came in the SBK Road To Cheltenham Novice Stakes won by Constitution Hill last month, where he overcame a slow start to finish a creditable sixth. However, he has almost 16 lengths to make up on that rival here, and the 7lb swing in his favour is unlikely to be enough.

The second Kingsclere-trained runner in the race, he is yet to run for the stable and has been gelded since last seen, where he finished fourth (beaten four and a half lengths) on the all-weather at Lingfield for Owen Burrows, a race won by the 108-rated Sea Scout.

This step up in trip from a mile and a quarter, to a mile and a half, should be in his favour but he is another that will need a huge chunk of improvement to get his head in front should Constitution Hill show the same level of form he did last month.

The remaining four runners are all available at odds in excess of 100-1. Hughie Morrison’s Star Artist (rated 103 over hurdles) finished eighth behind Constitution Hill on his first Flat start last month and is unlikely to have the requisite speed to mount a serious challenge.

The James Owen-trained Keep It Cool has also had just one Flat start, where he finished a well-beaten second over an inadequate extended mile at Wolverhampton last week, not helped by a slow start.

Gary and Josh Moore saddle fellow six-year-old Edward Sexton, who has had three runs on the Flat over seven furlongs and a mile, all of which he was comfortably beaten in, whilst Neil King’s four-year-old Victors Spirit was last seen finishing fifth, four and a half lengths behind the re-opposing Roadlesstravelled at Southwell three weeks ago.

Second in two bumpers, he was well beaten in his only other Flat run (over a mile and a half), and is likely to need more of a stamina test to be seen to best effect.