Brian Hughes: Worried Constitution Hill might not return the same horse
The form of Nicky Henderson’s yard and the very soft ground made for a less-than-competitive start to the Cheltenham Festival.
That’s not to say both Lossiemouth and State Man shouldn’t be praised for their performances.
Visually, Lossiemouth was probably more of an eye-catcher for many, but I actually like the way State Man did it, and I cannot understand why people in racing want to keep on crabbing him.
They hacked around; he picked them up well and won with plenty in hand. He’s won nine Grade Ones now and always gets the job done. You can’t ask for much more.
As for whether either of them would beat Constitution Hill, that’s an excellent question now.
I’m his biggest fan, but I am worried that he might not come back the same horse.
His piece of work the other day at Kempton was concerning, and I’m just hoping there isn’t anything more sinister going on with the horse.
Thursday at Cheltenham:
I’m looking forward to being down there on Thursday, even if my ride, Titanium Moon (4:50 pm) is a big outsider in the Mares’ Novices Hurdle.
She’s been brilliant for the yard, winning four of her last five starts, and would have needed her first run of the season up at Musselburgh last month.
I hope she can take a step forward from that and outrun her odds, but I would be slightly worried about the ground.
Hopefully, no more rain hits, as all of her best form has come in the summer months on good ground.
The Stayers’ looks a good renewal with plenty of old favourites in there.
Paisley Park, Noble Yeats, Dashel Drasher, and Flooring Porter have all been there and done it, but I’d rather be on an improver. Teahupoo is the one that stands out and I think he’ll win it if he is on his A-game, while Crambo is on an upward curve and is interesting.
Brian Hughes’ Gold Cup 1-2-3:
- Galopin Des Champs
- Corach Rambler
- Gentlemansgame
Galopin is 100% the one I’d like to be on. He’s by far and away the class horse of the race and he’ll handle the likely softer conditions better than his main market rival, Fastorslow.
It’s hard to see him getting beat if he reproduces last year’s run, let alone the thought of him improving on it.
Given the ground, this year’s Gold Cup looks like a real stamina test. Corach Rambler will definitely stay, so I’d take him to finish in the first three, while I also quite like Gentlemansgame.
Having had just three runs over fences, he’s sneaking into this under the radar.
He didn’t look at all novicey when winning the Charlie Hall and I can assure you that Mouse Morris wouldn’t be running one in this for the fun of it.
