D.DAY SOMETIME THIS WEEK & HURDLES, CAN WE AT LEAST HAVE A DEBATE?

A decision will be made this week as to the future of Constitution Hill. In fact, a decision haalready s been made, though until the weekend it is to remain one of those either or commitments. If Constitution Hill runs in the Champion Hurdle, and that 'if' depends on a vital schooling session mid-week, it will be his last race as a jumper and going-on he will revert to flat racing, with a spring and autumn campaign already partially mapped-out. The good news for Musselburgh is that Constitution Hill will race next on the flat in April in the race that formerly honoured Further Flight that has been transferred to Musselburgh from Nottingham.

Though I have preached the past few weeks that whatever Nicky Henderson and Michael Buckley decides we, the sport as a whole, should fully support them and not make critical comments because they have not decided in favour of what others believe to be correct. The question I will pose is this - what if Constitution Hill wins the Champion Hurdle by twenty-lengths? What if his jumping is faultless?

Whereas after Southwell I was sixty-forty not in favour of going to Cheltenham with Constitution Hill, preferring a less competitive race where the advice and guidance of Yogi Bresner could be put into practice, I am now 80-20 in favour of taking the easier root of saying goodbye to the jumps and concentrating on the flat. Apart from all the hard work that Nico and Yogi Bresner have put in over the past few months and seeing that all go to waste, is it worth the risk of another fall in front of a t.v. audience of a million people, if there is to be no reprise?

What is for definite,though, is that Constitution Hill will breath life into the 2026 flat season, even if he will be on his holidays when Royal Ascot comes around. I hope Nicky has left the door open to keeping the campaign going to include a possible run in the Ascot Gold Cup or, if he can get him on a good handicap mark, the Ebor. I know Nicky believes Constitution Hill will not have the stamina for extreme distances, with all the races mapped out for him by the Racing Post all 2-miles or under, but given suitable underfoot conditions, especially if he were to win the Henry the Second Stakes at Sandown, his proposed third run, it is a thought bearing in mind. But again, I will support any decision Nicky makes this week, and if Constitution Hill graces Cheltenham with his presence in the Champion Hurdle, I will be 100% on his side, even if my fingers will be crossed right up until he gallops away from the last hurdle.

Two horses lost their lives at Kempton Park yesterday, while a third horse also had a horrendous fall and was lucky enough to be able to walk into the horse ambulance. Three seperate falls in three separate hurdle races. There will be an enquiry into the falls by the B.H.A., there always is when there is a fatality. But this enquiry should be broadened into whether it is unfair to have different racecourses using different types of hurdles. The old-fashioned type of hurdles which I believe are still being used by Kempton, rather than the Easy-Fix plastic hurdles, are, to my mind, a tiger-trap when front runners brush through them, causing the hurdle to be moving either down or up when the horses following reach them. There is not a jockey in the world that can regulate matters when his horse, perhaps on a perfect stride, has to jump a moving obstacle. No equestrian sport that I am aware of asks a horse to jump a moving obstacle. Although horses can still fall, sometimes spectacularly, heart-stoppingly for the viewer, I believe the French hurdle, which is a smaller version of a steeplechase fence, are a fairer, safer, obstacle. After the joy of Southwell, Kempton was a horrible look. Two young horses lost their lives, with a third, I imagine, badly injured. All three falls were horrible to watch, even if Dan Skelton's horse initially rose quickly to his feet, though it was clear to me that the horse was lame in some way. The sport must debate this issue, even if the B.H.A. and its veterinary department wish to avoid the possible controversy.