"He should be up to winning a Listed race" - Windsor next for Constitution Hill

Henderson pulled stumps on jumping for Constitution Hill following a series of high-profile falls. A capacity crowd at Southwell in February was treated to a power-packed display from Henderson's multiple Grade One winner as he made a winning start to life on the level, before Ryan Moore guided Constitution Hill to an easy victory in another all-weather novice race at Kempton in March.

Despite an entry in the John Porter Stakes at Newbury in April, Henderson opted to give his nine-year-old a spring break. The Ebor had been discussed as the ideal target for Constitution Hill, but the team have run out of time to get another run into their star before York, and have instead decided to target the Listed August Stakes, which will be run at Windsor on August 29th.

"Michael and I both think the Windsor race is a good starting point." Henderson told the press on Tuesday. "It will be a prep race for what comes next, and I do think he should be up to winning a Listed race, but we also know that by having a third run he would become eligible for the big handicaps."

"The only other race we would think about at the moment is the Prix Kergorlay, which Ryan (Moore) thought would be a good option for him. That's a Group 2, though, and it probably makes more sense to start at Listed level."

Again, the Melbourne Cup has been discussed as a potential target for one of Britain's most popular horses. Henderson admitted that Racing Victoria have visited Seven Barrows in the last few weeks to see if they will make the trip down-under. However, Henderson went on to list several reasons why a tilt at the Melbourne Cup "almost certainly can't happen".

"As things stand now, he wouldn't get in the race." Henderson went on to explain. "They tell me the bottom weight is normally rated around 108, and we're currently on 101, so we have to go up 7lb for a start. I suspect he would need to be mightily impressive at Windsor for the handicapper to raise him by 7lb."

"That said, there is probably time to get in a second run in September and my assistant George Daly has been scouring the European programme book. He has been looking at Ireland, France and Germany. The only thing we've taken off the agenda is the ice in Switzerland."

"If we thought he was going to get into the Melbourne Cup, would we do it? Well, it would certainly be fun, and that's what we now want to have with the horse. If he happened to qualify in all departments, you would have to think about it, but I don't think we can say any more than that at the moment."

Arabian Crown won last year's August Stakes, beating just three rivals at Windsor. It's likely Constitution Hill will face a small field when he next returns to the track, before targeting a more lucrative race during the autumn.