Cheltenham Festival: Matt Chapman says Nicky Henderson should release Constitution Hill school education video | Horse Racing News


Matt Chapman has called on Nicky Henderson to have his Constitution Hill schooling video made public to serve as a “backup” should they decide to run the Championship Hurdle, despite concerns over the horse’s recent fall.

The two-time Cheltenham Festival hero, who has been eliminated by handicaps in his past four races, will move to a flat in Southwell later this month, possibly in preparation for a return to Champion Hurdle in March.

Speaking last week, Henderson said his star’s jump at home was “going well” but many voices following racing are nervous about falling hard again, this time on the biggest stage with the world’s eyes on the sport.

“Show the public pre-game education,” Chapman argued on the Unbridled podcast. “I’ll send the BHA (British Horseracing Authority) down and I’ll take a video of him going to school and looking as happy as Larry and then I’ll do it.

“If something goes wrong, what you want is someone on your side.”

14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls joined as a special guest on Unbridled and Matt asked if he thought Constitution Hill would return to Cheltenham: “My gut feeling is no.

“Nicky obviously wants to do what’s right for the horses, jockeys and the sport.

Nico de Boinville lay distraught but uninjured on Constitution Hill, Aintree.
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Nico de Boinville lay distraught but uninjured on Constitution Hill, Aintree.

“He’s in a no-win situation. If he wins, that’s great, but if he has a bad run or falls again, imagine what that will do to everyone. It’s a tough decision.”

Nicholls responded to Chapman’s shout-out by saying: “Have a little more faith in Nikki. BHA doesn’t need to be there, nor does anyone else.

“Nicky is going to do a great job. If he shows up, you’ll know clearly they have confidence in him.”

Replying to Nicholls, Chapman said: “There’s no doubt about it. I think Nicky needs support. I don’t want him standing in the paddock with 20 reporters asking: ‘Why are you running this horse?'”

Twiston-Davies comes to dinner, Nicholls talks ‘gentleman’s agreement’

Sam Twiston-Davies in 'The Killers'
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Sam Twiston-Davies will replace Nicholls in big games from next season

Nicholls is expected to lose current jockey Harry Cobden later this year, with the former champion set to wear JP McManus’ new contract from May.

That leaves an opening for Sam Twiston-Davies to return to Dickett in some form, with Nicholls revealing he will prepare dinner for the pair this Friday while discussing the terms of a “gentleman’s agreement”.

Nicholls looks likely to turn to Twiston-Davies for some of the biggest rides, while younger stable stars such as Freddy Ginger will also gain more experience in the saddle.

Paul Nicholls
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Harry Cobden begins new contract with JP McManus, Paul Nicholls without stable jockey since May

“I’m going to make him (Twiston-Davis) dinner Friday night, so watch out for Sammy,” Nichols said.

“He would come and we would have a chat. He rode Robo on the weekends and he knew the nature of the job.

“There will be some good backup rides and he will be the first choice to ride those rides. We will follow a gentleman’s agreement and help everyone where we can.

“Freddie Gingell has been our number two and he still needs a lot of first-level experience. Sometimes these young lads can be thrown into the deep end too early.

“It’s almost two years too early for Freddie. He’s a very talented jockey, he just needs more experience.”



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