Constitution Hill was finally declared an intended runner in Saturday’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown, but trainer Nicky Henderson is still closely monitoring the weather situation – saying he doesn’t want to run him on “terrible ground just for the sake of it”. Sandown are expecting a lot of rain between now and the race and have also announced they are calling a 7:30am Saturday inspection.
Nicky Henderson Still Keeping A Close Eye On The Sandown Park Weather
After the midweek shenanigans surrounding Constitution Hill running in Saturday’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown Park, there is still a chance we WON’T see the current Champion Hurdler at the Esher Track.
Trainer Nicky Henderson and owner Michael Buckley ended the ‘will he, won’t he run’ speculation about Constitution Hill running in the rescheduled Fighting Fifth Hurdle on Saturday by declaring him on Thursday.
Constitution Hill, who is the warm favourite with the best UK horse racing betting sites, makes up a field of just six runners for the Sandown race, that also includes his stablemate Shishkin.
However, it’s no secret that his trainer Nicky Henderson had some doubts about running Constitution Hill so close to his next intended race – the Christmas Hurdle on Boxing Day at Kempton.
Henderson told his Unibet blog that after speaking to Nico (de Boinville) and Michael (Buckley) they all wanted to run the horse in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle – which is why he was declared.
However, the Seven Barrow handler also added “it may not entirely be in his best interests or welfare to run on ground like it might be.”
The Horse’s Well-Being Is Paramount
Nicky Henderson highlighted that Constitution Hill’s well-being was paramount and people have to bear in mind that running at Sandown in ‘terrible’ ground could set him back for Kempton on Boxing Day.
Saying – “We don’t want to jeopardise his chance of winning another Unibet Champion Hurdle. If it is attritional, we have to be able to reconsider, and I know it will be disappointing for everyone, but Constitution Hill will always come first and that is where we draw the line.”
“Perhaps I’m being very pessimistic, and the ground might be nowhere near as bad as I’m expecting, but I just wanted to warn people that we are assessing the situation and do not want to run him on terrible ground just for the sake of it and potentially jeopardise his whole season.”
The Sandown Park going is currently described as follows, with rain forecast for Saturday morning.
It’s also been announced that the track will hold a 7:30am inspection on Saturday morning.
- Chase Course: Soft (good to soft in places)
- Hurdle Course: Heavy (soft in places)
- Going Stick: Chase 4.3, Hurdle 4.1
Sandown Park Weather Forecast for Friday and Saturday
See below the expected Met Office forecast for Sandown Park on Saturday morning – with a 90% chance of rain between 6am and 8am.
2023 Fighting Fifth Hurdle Info
📅Date: Saturday 9th December 2023
🕙Time: 1:15pm
🏇Racecourse: Sandown (2m, hurdles)
💰 Winner: £45,016
📺 TV: ITV4 / Racing TV
Fighting Fifth Hurdle 2023 Declared Runners and Betting Odds
- Constitution Hill 2/9
- Love Envoi 7/1
- You Wear It Well 14/1
- Shishkin 16/1
- Goshen 40/1
- Not So Sleepy 50/1
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