Cheltenham Day 1 Review: Supremely sensational from new kid Constitution Hill

If you have been at work and have not seen all the action, first read this column and then get the replays on! Wow, what a start to the Cheltenham Festival!

Was it a bird? Was it a plane? No, it was Constitution Hill

Lordy, lord, the British got off to an excellent start when Constitution Hill had me in a wild celebration by devouring his Supreme Novice Hurdle field by 22 lengths. It was effortless, and he crossed the finish line with any amount in hand, setting a new course record of 3m44.35secs, smashing the previous set by Annie Power of 3m45.10 secs in 2016.

Dysart Dynamo broke the tape in a false start and almost ended up jumping the first hurdle. Still, he set off at a scorching early gallop alongside the Nicky Henderson trained Jonbon, and both jumped fluently, with Constitution Hill sat in the third spot. The remainder of the runners, including the well-fancied Mighty Potter, could not go the early tempo of the three that headed the market.

Dysart Dynamo was far from all out but was looking vulnerable to the eventual winner when coming down at three from home, leaving Jonbon in pole position. It only looked a matter of time when Constitution Hill who never traded higher than 4.03/1 would claim his - overrated (jokes) - stablemate Jonbon, and he powered clear in effortless fashion to run out the most impressive winner of a Supreme Novice hurdle for some time.

Constitution Hill time figures

Constitution Hill from the landing side of the first hurdle clocked the below times at each hurdle (running clock on the left, splits on the right)

1st-2nd = 40.03
2nd-3rd = 1m23.28 = 43.25
3rd-4th = 1m46.25 = 22.97
4th-5th = 2m06.84 = 20.59
5th-6th = 2.43.65 = 36.81
6th-7th =3.01.15 = 17.50
7th-8th = 3.25.19 = 24.04
8th -F = 3.38.22 = 13.03

Edwardstone joins Moscow Flyer and Sizing Europe as eight-year-old scores

Edwardstone overcame adversity when Brave Seasca fell in front of him at the third flight, but Tom Cannon's quick reactions and the dancing hoofs of Edwardstone would not let that stop them from running out a comfortable winner of the Arkle. It was an impressive performance and well deserved for connections who have been patient with their superstar.

Matched at 50/1 in running for Ultima winner

Corach Rambler scored in the Ultima Handicap, getting up late to win, breaking my heart as well as followers of the Cheltenham Festival Focus as he nabbed Gericault Roque 13.012/1 in the dying strides. Still, it was an amazing performance from the day's furthest traveller who looks more than capable of mixing it at a higher level over this 3m2f trip.

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History made as Honeysuckle lands back to back Champion Hurdles

History was made in the Champion Hurdle as Honeysuckle landed back to back wins in the race and became the first mare ever to win two Champion Hurdles.

Appreciate It set a slow gallop on the front end and jumped worse than a bag of hammers as Not So Sleepy easily kept him company, and turning the race into a sprint is now certainly no way to get Honeysuckle beat, in fact, it's probably one of the worlds great mysteries of how you do. Her turn of foot settled the contest in a matter of strides, and she travelled through the contest very strongly.

Now 15 for 15, she has joined some of the sport's greats. Epatante finished second and made a significant error after the last when stumbling and was better than the beaten margin suggests. Zanahyir ran a blinder to finish third, while Teahupoo blew out finishing tailed off while Saint Roi was a bit of an eye-catcher.

Champion Hurdle time figures

Honeysuckle from the landing side of the first hurdle clocked the below times at each hurdle (running clock on the left, splits on the right)

1st-2nd = 43.75
2nd-3rd = 1.28.15 =44.40
3rd-4th = 1.51.69 = 23.54
4th-5th = 2.11.88 = 20.19
5th-6th = 2.47.53 = 35.65
6th-7th = 3.04.37 = 16.84
7th-8th = 3.28.71 = 24.34
8th -F = 3.42.62 = 13.91

Gaelic gamble foiled and Fred run wild by Stattler

Gaelic Warrior attempted to make all of the runnings in the Boodles Juvenile Hurdle and traded at a low of 1.21/5 before being caught on the line by Brazil 11.010/1. Experience told on the day as Willie Mullins' luck continued to be out as his runner jumped out to the right for much of the race costing him the precious ground.

Paul Nicholls continues his good record in this race with his Bell Ex One running into third.

Willie Mullins finally got off the mark as Stattler rounded off the day with an easy victory in the National Hunt Chase, which turned out to be a bit of a non-event. Run Wild Fred tried to make all of the running, but his jumping is simply not good enough to warrant his rating of 158, in all honesty. Stattler could make up into a potential Gold Cup horse next year after showing blistering speed earlier in the season over 3m.

An early mistake saw Braeside pull up on the first circuit, and Vanillier looks a better hurdler than a chaser.