BEWARE Buckley’s beast!
The 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero runs today, but many won’t give him a second glance with Michael Buckley’s gobsmacker Constitution Hill primed to take centre stage at Ascot.
I will be at the Berkshire track for Sky Sports Racing to bring you all the best interviews. Don’t miss a minute.
Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, Constitution Hill goes in the Coral Hurdle with an invincible aura around him.
Everyone is hoping for fireworks at Ascot.
On a day of shorties I think Frero Banbou (3.15, Ascot) can strike each-way for Venetial Williams and Charlie Deutsch
And there’s a right sparkler on display at Haydock, too, with Gold Cup romper A Plus Tard in the Betfair Chase.
In recent times Champion Hurdle heroes See You Then, Kribensis, Alderbrook, Make a Stand, Istabraq and Faugheen had been brilliant novices.
But the expectation surrounding Constitution Hill, 5-4 for next year’s Champion Hurdle, easily tops that lot after three victories last season by an aggregate winning distance of nearly 50 lengths.
Those wins included a destruction of the Supreme Novices’ field, leaving the likes of his stablemate, the highly talented Jonbon, trailing in his wake.
The Supreme time suggested the Nicky Henderson-trained monster would have at the very least given Honeysuckle a right fright if he had taken her on in the Champion.
And that’s after just three outings.
Constitution Hill is not against mugs today in Brewin’upastorm and Goshen as he goes up in trip.
But Buckley seemed quite chilled about the prospect when I spoke to him, even though he must be churning up inside.
GROUND A-OK
I remember how agitated he got when I stood close to him for his youngster’s Tolworth success at Sandown.
He said: “I’m not that stressed about it.
“It’s a joy to be lucky enough to have such a great horse. Let’s hope he can confirm he can do it as well in ‘open’ as he did in novice company.
“I’m excited and looking forward to the race. They have had some rain and the ground will be fine.
“I hope he doesn’t disappointment. But I don’t feel a lot of pressure. I felt a bit of pressure at Cheltenham in case we found out what looked good wasn’t — but we know he’s a good horse now.
“If he wins and then wins again I guess I’ll feel the pressure again.”
Ascot has not always been a happy hunting ground for Buckley.
He lost one of his most promising horses, The Proclamation, there in the 1990 Lightning Novices’ Chase.
But this race — rather than the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle — was his idea.
He added: “I had one bad day at Ascot, but it’s one of my favourite tracks and I’ve been going there since I started going racing.
“I used to go there every summer to see the King George when it was the No 1 middle-distance race in Europe.
“People like to make a drama out of it and maybe I have as well. But what happened to The Proclamation doesn’t put me off.
“It was my idea originally to go to Ascot rather than Newcastle simply because it’s a place I’ve been going my whole racing life.
“I thought it would be fun and it has worked out well as Nicky has Epatante for Newcastle.
“I won the Britannia at Royal Ascot in 2016 with Defrocked so it has been a good place for me as well.”
FESTIVAL STARS ON SHOW
A cracking card at Ascot also marks the return of Festival heroes Edwardstone and L’Homme Presse.
At Haydock, A Plus Tard faces a small but select field, his Betfair Chase opposition headed by last term’s easy Aintree winner Protektorat.
The latter has had a wind operation since finishing third behind A Plus Tard in the Gold Cup, but Henry de Bromhead’s star hacked up in this in 2021 and should do so again under Rachael Blackmore.
One word of warning has been a market drift for A Plus Tard in the last 24 hours, so just keep an eye on the betting close to the off.
What a day ahead. It’s not just from the end of The Mall to Hyde Park Corner that all the talk is about Constitution Hill! Yeeehaaa!
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