Nicky Henderson: Constitution Hill to miss Fighting Fifth but Christmas Hurdle is 'realistic'

• Constitution Hill to miss Saturday's Fighting Fifth

• Aims to make comeback in Christmas Hurdle on Boxing Day

• Henderson's stable star to win Champion Hurdle is 9/25.50

The Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day is a 'realistic' target for Constitution Hill, according to his trainer Nicky Henderson who confirmed that he would not run the horse in Saturday's Fighting Fifth Hurdle.

The unbeaten seven-year-old, who has not run since winning last year's Christmas Hurdle, was due to make his comeback in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth at Newcastle this weekend.

He was reported lame following a racecourse gallop at Newbury last week, however, and will miss the race.

Constitution Hill's big target is the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on 11 March. He is 9/25.50 to win the race for which Willie Mullins' Lossiemouth 9/43.25 is the current antepost favourite.

The news is quite positive with regards to Constitution Hill and we're cautiously optimistic he'll make @kemptonparkrace on Boxing Day. pic.twitter.com/tUOHNn3kxi

-- Nicky Henderson (@sevenbarrows) November 25, 2024

As for this Saturday, Henderson will head to Newcastle with Sir Gino in what he called the role of "supersub".

The market agrees that Sir Gino could do the business for Henderson and makes the unbeaten four-year-old 5/42.25 to win the race.

Last season, Sir Gino was one of the stars of the juvenile hurdling division, so fans will look forward to seeing him at Gosforth Park.

Henderson has said that Sir Gino's preparations were interrupted today by the windy conditions and that is a blow, as the horse will need to be at his best if he is to beat Mystical Power 5/42.25 on Saturday.

The pair are one and two in the market for a race that attracted 11 entries at the five day stage.

We will have previews of this weekend's racing, with tips from Daryl Carter and more experts, as well as Betfair ambassador Paul Nicholls' exclusive preview of his runners.

For now, watch Paul's latest Ditcheat Diary below, as he updates Betfair on his stable stars' plans.

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Plus, @PFNicholls ponders targets following a morning of schooling some star novice chasers on grass! pic.twitter.com/eHD0dHmwEP

-- Betfair Racing (@BetfairRacing) November 25, 2024

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