Horse heavily gambled on ahead of Christmas betting bonanza
Punters are piling cash on the star hurdler
Constitution Hill is being heavily backed by punters for the Christmas Hurdle on St Stephen's Day.
The 2023 Champion Hurdle winner is on course for a Christmas cracker clash with Lossiemouth having overcome the issue which saw him miss the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle late last month. His owner Michael Buckley was bullish when speaking about his star horse as he hit back at critics last week.
Speaking on Unbridled with Matt Chapman and Paddy Brennan, Buckley said: "He didn't do much wrong when he won the Christmas Hurdle the second time, at which point he had eight wins in a row and seven Grade Ones. Any way you chop it, he's pretty damn special.
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"Now I have to hear that he should be retired. Before that gallop at Kempton he was 1-4 for the Champion Hurdle and today he's washed up. It's extraordinary to read the sort of c*** that people write.
"If he performs abysmally in the Christmas Hurdle then everyone will say his career is on a downward curve and maybe it's time to call it day. But, if he runs a big race, even if he bustles up Lossiemouth, you can hardly say his career is over, and if he beats Lossiemouth he'll probably go odds-on for the Champion Hurdle again.
"What are they all going to say then? 'We got all that wrong'. It'll be what it'll be."
Meanwhile, trainer Nicky Henderson reported "everything’s going well" and he "couldn’t be happier" with Constitution Hill.
He told the Luck Daily Podcast: “We’ve got a week to go, we’ve got more work to do, but everything’s going well and I couldn’t be happier.
“He recovered very quickly which was very good, so we didn’t lose a lot of time over that, losing time is always inconvenient but I don’t think it’s done any damage.
“We were all but ready for the Fighting Fifth and we had to back off him for a week because he was actually lame, but we could do various things. We have a water treadmill that’s very good and he kept working away on that. He kept moving very well really and has been very good.
“His work is very good. Everything has gone right; he’s schooled and that woke him up. The fire is burning, and I hope it will be burning next Thursday.”
Ladbrokes have revealed that a staggering 59.1% of all bets placed on the Christmas Hurdle have been in favour of the gelding, who is currently 11/8 in the betting, behind Lossiemouth (4/5), while Sir Gino (5/2) remains the only other name currently priced shorter than 16/1.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "All eyes are on the battle of England v Ireland in this year's Christmas Hurdle, and while Lossiemouth will likely lead the way in the betting going into Boxing Day, Constitution Hill is by far and away the most popular pick with punters for a record-breaking win."
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