Key quotes from top trainers Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson
Constitution Hill is the odds-on favourite for the Champion Hurdle
Paul Nicholls won Grade Ones with Bravemansgame and Hermes Allen over Christmas
All three will not run again before the Cheltenham Festival
Nico de Boinville riding Constitution Hill easily win The Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park. (Getty)
Three of Britain's best hopes for the 2023 Cheltenham Festival will not be seen again until that famous meeting.
Constitution Hill extended his unbeaten record over Christmas, thrashing Epatante and a couple of other rivals in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park.
Nicky Henderson's star is currently the 1/3 favourite for the 2023 Champion Hurdle - which would be the shortest price any horse has ever carried into that contest - and Henderson has told the press that Constitution Hill will not have another run prior to entering that historic Championship race.
"I think almost certainly Constitution Hill will not run again before Cheltenham." Henderson told Nick Luck this weekend.
“We’ve ummed and ahhed a fair bit, I did have what I thought was quite a bright idea but it doesn’t quite come off and I can understand why. I did sort of enquire whether we might have the International Hurdle that was abandoned rescheduled on Trials Day at Cheltenham. If that had been possible I would have gone there with him, but I really don’t like the idea of going to Haydock."
“He’s obviously very good fresh, he was very good the first time this year in the Fighting Fifth. Last year we went from the Tolworth to Cheltenham and you couldn’t have had him any better so I really don’t see any point, there’s nothing to be gained."
Harry Cobden riding Bravemansgame (orange) clear the last to win The Ladbrokes King George VI Chase as Charlie Deutsch is unseated from L'Homme Presse. (Getty)
Paul Nicholls will also send two of his brightest talents straight to the Cheltenham Festival, after watching both collect Grade One honours over Christmas.
Bravemansgame saw off a quality field to hand Nicholls his 13th victory in the King George VI Chase. Then, on New Year's Eve, Hermes Allen galloped to a hugely impressive victory in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury.
"Bravemansgame came out of the race really well, he used to take his races quite hard but I'd say he's hardly lost a kilo this time and he looks great already," Paul Nicholls said via his blog with bookmakers Betfair.
"We're not going to make the same mistake as last year and run him between now and Cheltenham, we'll get him in the form of his life and go straight to the Gold Cup. I don't need to prove anything with him, he's best when he's fresh and very fit."
"Hermes Allen, what is the point of running him?"
"If we look after him he could go on to Cheltenham and then either Aintree or Punchestown. He's in great shape, he's come out of the race well and he'll go straight to the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle."
Nicholls also confirmed that Stage Star would be entered in both the Turners and Brown Advisory Chases. Meanwhile, Nicky Henderson has said that Jonbon will run in the Kingmaker Novices' Chase at Warwick before going onto the Arkle, and Shishkin will step up in trip and run in the Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton later this month.
